Every Rose has its Thorn
by You Are Love
Summary: Have you ever seen the stem of a perfect rose? One of the most beautiful roses I have ever seen had five, wicked, nasty thorns leading up to view the exquisite flower. It made me think how similar that rose was to love. If one must feel excruciating pain to know immense joy, then every rose has its thorn.
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes places directly after Susan Kay's lair scene in Phantom. I have never begun a story where Erik is left heartbroken and Christine leaves with what's his name. Rest assured, while I may have had her leave with Tool boy, I have a few things planned. ;) **

"Every Rose has its Thorn"

Madame Giry sat silently by the fire. It was colder than one expected for this time of year. She marveled how the temperature matched her mood. Did it all really happen? Did she betray the man she swore to protect and care for? What made her forget her promise and instead help a stranger try to destroy him?

She opened the music box and laughed at the irony. _Gustave Daae, what would you have thought of all this? Did you foresee the events of that night? You trusted us with your only child and yet you left the secrets of her past in a music box that would make anyone stop and look inside it, if only to satisfy their curiosity. _She thought for a moment of throwing it into the fire but something made her stop.

_I can't do it. Damaging as it might be, it is her past and no one should have the right to take away someone's past. Maybe one day, she will have to know for her own safety? _She got up, only this time she kept the token close to her. "Safety… I did it for her safety, yes? The Vicomte will protect her….But would he still protect her if he knew the truth about her?" She took the letter out of the music box and grasped it in her hand.

"Dear God, Erik what did I do? Please, know that I did it for you… I did it for both of you."

"Did what, Mama?"

"Meg! How long have you been standing there?"

Meg looked hurt at her mother's harsh tone. "I only just entered the house and heard your voice. I thought you were calling for me."

Madame Giry looked at her with guilty eyes. "I am sorry, my Meg. I was just… Never mind, it isn't important." She then took the letter and placed it inside her dress pocket.

"I miss her, Mama. It's been three weeks since she left. Why has she not come by? Why have we not received any word of her wedding?"

"Oh Meg, I told you, Christine has a new life now. It is best she forgets her old one and all that was associated with it."

"Including us? We were her only family for years before the Vicomte showed up and remembered her. Funny how he didn't even give her a second glance until she was the Prima Donna."

"Meg…"

"No, Mama. You have refused to discuss this since that night but I will not just forget she was a part of my life. She was like a sister to me, just as Erik was like a brother to you. Why must she turn her back to us? Why must you turn your back on Erik?"

"She didn't turn your back on you, Meg. She is to be a Vicomtesse. She can't associate with commoners."

"Commoners?! Is that… Is that what she thinks we are now? Because she would have been out on the street if you hadn't taken her in or if Erik hadn't tutored her."

"Meg, I am not saying Christine thinks we are commoners but her new world will demand that she embrace her new life and the Vicomte will want her to forget the past, especially after… That night."

"He would want her to be without her best friend and mother figure? Maybe I will believe that but what does she want? Has she no more mind of her own, now that she is marrying him? And what about you and Erik? How come you haven't been down to see him?"

"Meg, I can't see him. It's too dangerous and …. I am not sure he would even wish to see me."

"Mama, he is all alone and was left for dead! He would welcome any company."

"Nadir was with him." Madame Giry started to feel nauseous.

"If that's what happens when you fall in love, I want no part of it. You either lose the ability to think for yourself or are left alone because you fell for someone you shouldn't have."

"He went mad!"

"That's what love does, Mama. If you ask me, he needs us now more than ever. I know you always wanted me to keep my distance but you never would have associated with him if he was truly as wicked as they said. Besides, you told me that he helped us many, many times after Papa died."

"I know. I want to see him but…."

"He may be afraid too. Afraid that you will think less of him. Mama, he let her go. Nadir told us, he let them both go. Surely, that must count for something."

"I can't see him just yet."

"Why?" Meg then looked at her mother with a new sense of understanding. "It was you."

Madame Giry's eyes fixated on her daughter. She knew she has been caught.

"You lead the Vicomte to the lair… Oh Mama." She threw her arms around her catching her mother off guard. "It's alright. We all make mistakes."

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Nadir walked through the dark passageways not knowing what he would find. He hadn't been down to see his friend since that night. He couldn't remember when he ever saw him so out of wit. In Persia, he was vicious but calm. When he tried to kill the boy and himself in the process, he was barely recognizable to Nadir. Yes, he was vicious but he seemed crazed, lost, desperate, sad and completely out of control.

Nadir still didn't know what caused Erik to change his mind. One minute he and the Vicomte were going to their deaths and the next they were set free. Nadir saw Erik looking ashamed and no longer was he a frightening Phantom but a frightened child. When he heard him ask the young soprano and her suitor for a wedding invitation, he thought he had surely gone mad.

_The weirdest thing was that they each promised and the girl….. The girl looked almost hopeful that she would have Erik attend her nuptials! Was she just as out of it due to witnessing Erik's wrath? When he asked to have tea with me, I thought I was going to faint right on the floor from shock._

_We drank the tea in silence, other than his telling me he was in shock that Christine and the Vicomte would agree to bring him an invitation to their wedding. I was about to tell him that he shouldn't expect to see it, when he surprised me again and said he knew that neither would ever return but he was still amazed they would agree, despite everything. _

_Afterwards, he told me to go and leave him. He said he wasn't worthy of my friendship and wished to be left alone. As if I was going to leave him to his own devices. I still cared for him, despite his trying to kill me. After two days of standing guard to make sure he wouldn't do anything to harm himself or go back on his word, I finally left. But I have been looking for an excuse to go back and when Antoinette told me she hadn't gone to see him, I knew I had to._

Nadir couldn't believe he had found the entrance so quickly. Was he that lost in thought that time escaped him completely? He opened the door and walked inside. The place was even in more shambles then when he left.

_Dear Allah, did the mob return? Wait…. "_Erik! Erik!" He didn't see him anywhere. He walked over to what once was Erik's music room when he turned pale at the sight. "Erik?"

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Raoul stood in the parlor with his father and brother.

"I tell you she is completely a different person. She is deeply troubled and needs help. She has been nothing but distant and distraught ever since we arrived. It is as if her spirit is gone."

Phillip laughed. "Hardly. She is probably playing the part of a scared victim."

"Phillip, please not again." Raoul faced his father. "Can't you tell him to have some respect for my future bride?"

The Comte looked at both of his sons dismayed. "Raoul, Phillip does bring up a point we should discuss. Are you sure you still want to marry her? She is a former theater….. Person. That alone is scandal to this family. Yet if you do wish to marry her, you better heed my warning. Divorce will never be an option."

"Why would I even consider divorce?" Raoul looked agitated.

"You fool! What father is saying is that you can still call off the engagement. People will understand. If she is this much trouble now, can you imagine once she is your wife? She is not Vicomtesse material. At the end of the day, she will still be just playing a part and frankly, she wasn't that good of an actress to begin with!"

"Phillip, she has been through an ordeal no one can even imagine. She was kidnapped by that… Thing and forced to kiss him. She hasn't been able to get it out of her mind. She won't even kiss me since we got here."

Phillip laughed. "A cold fish too? Raoul, wake up. She was the Phantom's whore and now she won't even kiss her fiancée? You are asking for trouble."

Raoul turned and looked out the window. Secretly he was dismayed that Christine rebuffed all his advances of affection. At first, he assumed it was because of her ordeal but three weeks later she still barely left her room and wouldn't even allow him to kiss her lips.

"Raoul, did you hear what I said?" The Comte said in an exasperated voice. "What Phillip said about her being the Phantom's….. Well, is it so farfetched?"

"What do you mean?" Raoul turned with keen interest. It was one thing for Phillip to make comments, but his father was usually much more restraint.

"What do you know about this girl? You were what, 5, 6 years old when you knew her at the beach? Her father was some poor violinist. She has no mother, which means we don't know her background on her mother's side. She was raised in an Opera House and you two didn't see each other again until she was 18. How do you even know who she is, much less love her enough to marry her?"

"Since when does love count for marriage in this family?" Raoul tried to throw it back at his father but regretted it when he saw his eyes.

"That might be true if she was of noble descent but we both know she is not. Therefore, I would think love is the only possible reason. But son, is it worth it? Is it even really love?"

Phillip smirked. "Raoul, you don't have to marry her to sleep with her. She's bedded murderers, she will surely bed you. Besides, from what I hear, it runs in the family!"

"Enough Phillip!" The Comte ordered. "Raoul, I ask that you think this through. This may be your only chance to break free and avoid permanent scandal."

A few hours later Raoul knocked on Christine's bedroom door. When she didn't answer, he tried the handle and was more than irate that it was locked.

"Christine, it's me. Please open up. I have something to show you. It just arrived and I wanted you to see it at once."

Slowly he heard her footsteps as she unlocked the door. He charged into her room with excitement.

"Now then, look at what I have here!"

She smiled weakly and it didn't take much to notice her eyes were red from crying. He looked at her in alarm and then saw that her tray had not been touched yet.

"Lottie, have you eaten? What are you doing to yourself?"

"I am fine, Raoul. I just haven't had much of an appetite these days. I just…."

He put the box down. "What? Tell me." He walked over to her and put his arm around her.

She became stiff at the contact and it did not go unnoticed by Raoul but he still held her firmly.

"I miss Meg and Madame Giry. Why have they not come to see me? Do you think…. Do you think they blame me for what happened? Oh Raoul, I think back and….."

"Now, now, Lottie. Stop and take hold of yourself. I am sure they have been busy. Besides, it is better this way."

"Better?" She looked at him in confusion. "How could it be better? They are my only living family."

"Christine, come now. Stop acting like a child. You know they can't be a part of the wedding. It's just as well they aren't here. It would be rather rude for us to throw it in their faces."

_I am not a child….._"Why can't they be a part of the wedding, Raoul? I want Meg to be my Maid of Honor. She is as close to me as a sister is."

Raoul shook his head. "Christine, that's not possible. My cousin will be your Maid of Honor and Phillip's wife, Lucile will stand as your bridesmaid."

"But Raoul….."

He walked towards the box. "Now just look at this and then we can turn each other heads with talk of our wedding." He pulled out the wedding invitation.

Christine's face lit up. In fact, Raoul hadn't seen her look so happy since she was on stage singing….That night. When he made the connection he grew angry and ignored the thought.

"Raoul, the invitations! They arrived. Now we can go back and see him. Now we can give him the invitation and ….."

"Go back? Go back to that demon's hell hole? Are you as crazy as Phillip says you are? I am never going back there. He almost killed me. He almost raped you!"

"No! He would never do that. He couldn't do that. You promised him! We promised him we would go back and deliver the invitation to him."

"To appease the monster. My God did you think I meant it? Next thing you are going to tell me is that you meant to kiss him!"

Christine grew silent and turned away from him. Raoul looked at her with disgust. _The Phantom's whore..._He shook his head and threw the invitation back down into the box.

"You are obviously still not well. I will leave you tonight so you can rest. I am sure things will be clearer for all of us in the morning. Good night, Christine."

She never turned around. All she did was sink to her knees and let the tears consume her once more.

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Raoul flew down the stairs and was stopped by the butler.

"Monsieur Vicomte, you have someone asking for you at the front door."

Raoul was in no mood for visitors. He was heading straight to a tall glass of scotch. He then thought he better see whom it was first.

"Thank you." He walked into the waiting room and saw Meg Giry greet him with a smile by the door.

"Monsieur Vicomte, hello. I have come to see Christine. I have missed her so much. Can you please tell her I am here?"

Raoul knew the last thing he needed was a renewed relationship with anyone from Christine's past.

"I'm sorry, Mlle. Giry for your trouble but Christine does not wish to see anyone and would prefer if you left her alone. I hope you have a pleasant night." He shoved her outside and slammed the door in her face.

Meg looked at the closed door is shock. "Son of a Bitch!"

_A/N: Thorn One._


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for reading, following and reviewing my new story. I am glad to see some familiar names and just as happy to see new reviewers as well. It really means a lot to me to hear what you have to say. **

**Let's get this over with, I own nothing. Now, on with the show!**

Meg was irate. How could the Vicomte, a member of such pristine nobility, shove her out the door and slam it in her face? Wasn't she Christine's best friend? Didn't he owe her something? If not for her, then didn't the Vicomte have a debt to repay to her mother at least? After all, what would have happened if Madame Giry hadn't shown the Vicomte the way to Erik's home that night?

Meg shook her head and started to walk around to the back of the estate. She looked up and tried to make out which balcony belonged to Christine.

"If she doesn't wish to see me after all we have been through, she can tell me herself! Then I'll give her what for. Who does she think she is? She isn't a Vicomtesse yet, frankly I don't see why someone would want it. Sure, you'd have money and power but what good is it if you can't do the very thing that makes you breathe? I don't see her ever returning to the stage… What a waste." _If I couldn't dance….. At least it doesn't apply to me. It is not like I am about to marry a controlling Vicomte._

She thought she spotted Christine's shadow at the window. She bent down and picked up a stone and threw it at the balcony door. "Did I miss?"

"Do you always make a habit of throwing stones at glass houses?"

"What?!" Meg turned around in a fright. Before her was an older gentleman, getting out of a carriage with an amused smile on his face. "Who are you? Do you make a habit out of scaring people half to death?"

"I beg your pardon, Mademoiselle but you were quite too intriguing to avert my eyes. First, with your huffing and puffing and then talking to yourself and let's not forget your pitching arm." He laughed. "Say, why not use the front door like everyone else?"

Meg was flabbergasted. She had no idea what to think. A first glance, he was very appealing with his tall frame, warm smile and distinguished dark and gray hair. Yet she then realized he had witnessed her trespassing and if he could see her, what if others were watching her too? However she wasn't afraid. She felt something but fear wasn't it. She wasn't sure what made her tell him the truth but out of her mouth the words came.

"I tried that, Monsieur but I was told I wasn't wanted."

"Who could ever say that to you?" He grinned again.

"Really?"

"Of course. They obviously don't know how persistent you are." He became even more curious. "It is obvious the de Chagnys have no account for good taste."

"I wanted to hear it from her…." She said wearily. "Wait? You know them? You know the Vicomte?"

The man took his hat off. "Alas, I do. I know both the Comte's sons. You see, the Comte and I are old friends.

Meg's face dropped and she was ready to run the other way. "I'm sorry! I….Please don't say…."

"Calm down, Mademoiselle. I am Darius Reimes. I live around the next bend. I assure you there is no need for alarm. It appears you have had a rather long day as it is, no need to add to your stress level."

"I better go."

Just then the balcony door opened. Darius looked up and saw a woman looking down.

"Who's out here?"

Darius pointed up. "It appears you didn't miss after all, Mademoiselle.

Meg looked up and called out, "Christine! It's me, Meg! Don't slam the balcony door, please."

"Meg? Is that really you? What are you doing down there?"

Meg paused. She wasn't sure what she should say with Darius being so near.

"Meg, is it? Pretty name. I don't think you should keep your friend waiting."

"Please Monsieur, don't tell on me. I just came to see…" She came towards him with a pleading on her face.

Darius placed his hands on her shoulders and it instantly calmed her. "Relax, Mademoiselle. Go about your business. I am expected and will leave you to your reunion. It seems that both of you wish to keep it." He then lifted his hands and for some reason, regretted it. "I think I will use the front door." He tipped his hat to the ladies. "I hope to see you again."

"Why are you not stopping me? Why are you not calling the Comte and whisking me off the property? You're a stranger. What purpose do you have to be so kind?"

"Don't people rely on the kindness of strangers? Good evening." He walked back to his carriage.

Meg didn't tear her eyes away, until Christine's voice called her name.

"Meg!"

Hearing her name brought Meg back to the reason she was there in the first place. "I must speak to you, Christine. Then if you never want to see me again, I will leave you be."

"What are you talking about? I thought you didn't want anything to do with me."

"But the Vicomte….." Meg was starting to see that the Vicomte didn't speak on behalf of her friend after all. "Never mind, I'm coming." She looked up and then took a deep breath. "Uh, do you think you can help me up?"

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Nadir saw Erik's coffin in plain sight with the lid closed. The vision overwhelmed him. He knew Erik had one and would sometimes sleep in it but he thought he had discarded it once he began making plans to have a real, living wife.

"Erik….." No reply. "Damn it, Erik! Do not play games with me." Curiosity over took him and he moved like the speed of lightening to the coffin, yanked the lid opened and looked right into Erik's face. He then lifted him up and began shaking him. "Come on, Erik! This isn't how the story ends. Wake up! The world is not finished with you and I know you are not ready to die."

He looked down at him again. There was no movement, no breathing._ He couldn't have suffocated. Erik is a skilled magician and it had only been a few days…. He saw him survive through much worse at the hands of the Shah and his mother._

He shook him again. "Fine, you miserable, bastard. If you do not open your eyes and rejoin the living, I will have no choice but to give you mouth to mouth."

When Erik didn't respond, Nadir dropped him back down. "Alright, you asked for it. My lips are extra chapped….."

Erik felt Nadir's body looming over him. His eyes shot up. "Get your disgusting, contaminated lips away from me, Daroga!"

Nadir kept his stance and leaned closer into Erik's lips. "Are you sure?"

"Get off!" Erik sat up, kicked the bottom lid open and pushed Nadir away from him.

Nadir started laughing. "I have never been happier to hear your insults, Erik."

Erik was free from the coffin, but remained inside. "Why are you here? I told you to never come back."

"Since when have I ever listened to what you had to say?" He noticed Erik wasn't getting up. "I can't have a conversation with you like that. Get up, man."

"I have no reason to."

"Confound it, Erik! You think the world has come to an end because you lost the woman that you love? You are not the only one to know loss, Erik. I never took you for being selfish."

"I am not selfish, Nadir. I know the world is full of sufferers. I am merely helping the surplus population and taking one out of his misery."

"Self-pity doesn't become you."

"Why do you care? You helped the boy….. You helped him take her back!"

"Erik….. I thought you knew that she would never love you like that."

Erik shook his head in defeat. "I know….. I failed….. I made a mistake of it all. Maybe if I hadn't lost my wit she could have….. What does it matter? It's all over."

"No, Erik. That is where you are wrong."

"She is going to marry him. I have nothing to live for."

"Erik, your life does not revolve around Christine Daae. You had a life before her, talents before her that you expressed and explored. Can't you at least see the positive in all this? You experienced what it was like to feel love. Yes, you lost but you loved, Erik. And you realized that a one sided love affair was not enough. You can learn from all your mistakes so next time…."

"Next time? Next time?" Erik jumped up and began charging at the Persian. "Have you forgotten this? He pressed his face up against Nadir's. "I will never have a next time! I never even had one time. If Christine couldn't love me, than who could? Who would?"

"Erik, you are meant for more. You have heart, compassion, talent, and intelligence. I know you are good inside." He pointed at his heart. "The right woman, will see the beauty underneath."

"Beauty… My external appearance matches the interior, Nadir. Have you forgotten what I am?"

"A told you. A genius. A musical prodigy. A friend."

"A deranged, lustful , monster. Just leave me to rot, like all the others. "You have the most reason to do so. I went back on my word. I killed innocent people."

"Erik despite all the wrong, you made it right. You made it right, when you let her go. You came to your senses before it was too late. If I could forgive you for going back on your promise, then you must do so as well. Forgive yourself and start again. You've done it before."

"Do you have a mental block, Nadir? I told you I have nothing left, it's over."

"Erik, Christine is not the end all be all. You survived years without her."

And yet I never started living until I heard her sing." He looked at Nadir, apologetically. "I swear to you, I had good intentions. I never had ulterior motives. I wanted to be her friend, her guide and protector. She looked so lost when she first came here as a child. I would hear her cries and my heart just reached out to her. Then when she sang… My life had a new purpose, one I hadn't felt in years. It was almost like being back in Italy with Giovanni. Someone else needed me and wanted me again."

Nadir never had heard Erik's version of how he came to care and help raise Christine. "When did she see you?"

"It wasn't until the night that boy came that I actually made myself known to her as a man. For years, I was just a voice to her. Then even after I realized I fell in love with her, I knew….. I knew it could never be. She deserved riches and palaces… However when the Vicomte came, I couldn't let her go. He was able to give her all I couldn't and yet I had to have her all to myself. I thought I could win her love with music as I knew she loved it as much as I did. What a fool I was, Daroga."

"No more than any other lovesick man, Erik. You are after all a man. Not an angel and not a demon."

"How could I ever think she could want me, when she had him?"

"Antoinette told me how you cared for her all during her youth. She said if it hadn't been for you, she isn't sure what would have become of Christine."

"And I go ahead and taint it with my beastly urges. I terrorized her."

"Erik, I have known you a long time and you are not like that. I have no doubt you loved that girl and would sooner harm yourself than her. What you felt was pure, honest emotion. There was nothing beastly about it. You just lost control. It happens to everyone. Yet you pulled yourself together. You gave Christine her life back and her choices. Why not allow yourself the same?"

"Daroga, it's all over for me. I can't be trusted with innocence and light. She was right to run away from me."

"Erik, you just have to learn to handle rejection better." Nadir laughed.

Erik gave him a double look. "I'm glad you haven't lost your ignorant sense of humor."

"Come now, Erik. We have cried far too long and it is time we look back and try and find some humor."

Erik rubbed his face in his hands. "Annie hasn't come to see me. Little Meg probably will stay clear of me now too…"

"Antoinette is completely distraught over what happened. She wants to see you but is afraid you will shun her. Erik, we are all still your friends. Mistakes don't turn friends away. They bring them closer."

"Do you think they married by now?"

Nadir mentally cursed. _Why did he have to turn the conversation back to her?_ "I don't know, Erik. It's been three weeks."

"I never did receive that invitation." Erik lamented. He sighed and then looked at Nadir. "Was it dangerous coming down here? I haven't been outside this room since the day I kicked you out. I mainly just laid in the coffin, hoping for death."

"I am not going to lie. You will be appalled once you see it."

"It's just as well. Nothing was worth keeping, except my mask. I didn't think I would need it anymore." He shook his head at Nadir. "I suppose it is a good thing I have spares."

"Erik, there is much for you to keep and sustain and it isn't just your pesky masks."

"Really, Nadir? Let's see do you know of another opera house that needs haunting? Wait, perhaps a gypsy fair is coming to town and they need a new, hideous attraction?"

Not wanting to encourage his rant, he spoke without missing a beat. "How about a school for the performing arts? A conservatory of aspiring children singers who are in desperate need of a music professor and if the qualifications match, an architect."

"Why the devil would you tell me this?"

"Because I know of a place, Erik. They are low on funds but high on spirit and talent. They could use someone with your talents, both for music and for masonry."

Erik was too angry to actually vocalize his words. Instead he took deep breaths and managed to utter the following phrase, "And they call me deranged? Did you just hear yourself? How could I teach children?"

"You excelled at it with my son, Meg and Christine. Why deprive others of your skills?"

Erik was beyond furious. "You are my friend? All you do is remind me of what I will never have. Even if I didn't look like a gargoyle, I can't teach. I have nothing left in me."

"No, Erik. I told you it isn't over for you."

"Nadir, Christine took the music with her!"

"No, Erik, she didn't. It was never hers to take. You could make a real difference in these children's lives."

"I thought we weren't playing games with one another? How would a school welcome the infamous Phantom of the Opera?"

"The school is far enough away from Paris, where they do not desire nor can they indulge in the gossip of the city."

Erik was still clinging to his internal walls. He was trying to find any excuse not to go. "Fine they don't know of me but once they see my mask, it won't matter if they ever heard of me or not. I will become their next nightmare."

"I promise you, your past and mask will not be an issue."

Erik laughed in mockery. "Now you are going to tell me these gifted children are without curiosity? I can hardly take them for being gifted then."

"I assure you they have keen minds, Erik. What they don't have is….. Sight."

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Raoul was in the library, finishing his third glass of scotch when Phillip came into the room.

"A lovely book you are devouring, dear brother?" Phillip laughed. "May I borrow chapter one?" He didn't wait for Raoul to respond, while he poured himself a glass.

"More name calling, Phillip?"

"No, that was just an added benefit. I actually came in to tell you that father wants you to come and say hello to Reimes."

"In a minute." He took his last swallow.

"I don't believe I have ever seen you drink as much as I have in the last three weeks. You better pull yourself together."

"I'm fine, Phillip. Christine is fine. We are fine!"

"I didn't ask." He took a sip from his glass. "Although, I am glad to hear you and your future bride are fine, as you say. Lucille told me that Melanie is coming in two days' time. I would hate for you and Christine to not be at your best for our dear cousin."

Raoul jumped up. "Melanie is coming and you just tell me this now?"

"I only heard from Lucille this evening about it. With all the commotion Christine has been causing, this is the first opportunity she has had to read Melanie's letter."

"But she's a month early for the wedding."

"Maybe our impetuous cousin had other reasons for coming in so early?" He winked. "Perhaps, it would be a good idea to get Christine out of the house for a bit, eh?"

Raoul looked uncomfortable. "Melanie will be her Maid of Honor. It is only right they meet and become close."

"How close, Raoul? My, isn't that a cozy little arrangement. Lucille, would never agree to that. Perhaps I misjudged your Christine, after all?" He poured himself another drink.

"Don't say that! I am marrying Christine. Melanie and I are over."

"Then why not go out with a bang?"

"What do you mean?"

Your former mistress and future wife have all the time in the word to become acquainted. But you, dear brother have only a few precious moments left of freedom. Why not make the best of it with Melanie? Tell Christine she should get out of Paris for a few weeks, fresh air, etc. Say you have business and can't get away. When she gets back, the wedding plans will be all set, and she will be well rested and you….." He grinned. "You will have taken care of a long overdue release, Raoul. Better get yourself in check. You are much too tense."

"Send her alone? Never!"

"Doesn't she have friends of her own kind? What about that opera crew? Better still, there is a music conservatory outside of Paris. Why not tell her you wish for her to perform a song of love for you at the wedding. This school can help her prepare for it. She will be grateful for your support, much too pre-occupied with the music to care about your absence and you will be able to have some fun."

"But she knows I won't allow her to sing after our wedding. It isn't proper."

"All the more reason to cherish this special wedding present between the two of you. One last song. What? Do you want the last time she ever sing be to that monster where all of Paris saw them lusting after each other?" Phillip held in a laugh. "I would think you would want to change that memory the sooner, the better."

Raoul was tempted. It sounded like the answer to everyone's problems. "No…. I can't. I will see Melanie in my own way and time. I can't…"

"Ask Christine."

Offended, Raoul began to shout. "You think she will just leave me without protesting?!"

No, Raoul. Take my bet."

"Huh?"

"Propose the situation to her. If she adamantly refuses, I will apologize to you and never say another word against her. But if she agrees to go and leave you for a few weeks without question or complaint, I will expect you to grovel in gratitude to me for this gift. God, knows you won't have much fun playing nursemaid to a damaged whore."

Raoul should have punched his brother. He should have just walked away but he didn't. The truth was he liked the idea. He liked having the freedom of not having to walk on egg shells for a while. He liked the thought of a woman not refusing his touch. He liked the idea of experiencing one long release with Melanie.

Maybe this would do both of them good? He could get his final kicks out of the way and Christine would come back with a song for him. A song proving her devotion that it was he whom she loved and wanted. He could claim her in song this time and she would have no choice but to thank him. He would finally be able to put the monster out of their lives forever.

"I'll ask her. This is for her as well as for me. I will say a proper goodbye to Melanie and tell her we can never meet again in such a way. Christine will come back with a new focus. We will be stronger for this and ready to start our lives together. I will be able to focus all my energy on her as I will have taken care of my…. Frustrations. Then once we are married, I will have no need to see Melanie or any other woman for that matter. " He smiled in satisfaction. "Yes, I will tell her first thing in the morning…. Er ask her first thing in the morning, that is." He put his empty glass down and went to find his father and Monsieur Reimes.

Phillip waved him goodbye. "Thank me later, Raoul." He finished his drink.

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The girls were sitting down on the bed putting to rest any confusing there might have been over the last few weeks.

"You mean you don't blame me for what happened? You and Madame still think of me as family?"

"Christine, it was us who thought you wanted to forget all about your past. Mama said that you had to focus on your new life but I didn't believe her. I knew if we just talked…"

Christine got up and began to pace with her hands clasped together. "He told me that no one came to see me. He knew how much I longed for yours and Madame's company. And…." _My angel's…._

"And who's?"

Christine changed the subject. "Raoul really slammed the door in your face?"

She nodded but tried to act supportive. "Maybe he thought he was protecting you?"

"Protecting me? I am not a child! I know my own mind. Why is it that every man feels and thinks as if they have to make decisions for me? That's not protection! That's incarceration!"

"Every man? What other men are there?" Meg placed her hand under her chin to listen attentively.

"Christine looked at the balcony door and abruptly closed it. "Were you cold?"

Meg could see Christine was uncomfortable with the subject matter. "Christine, are you happy here with Raoul?"

The minute she tried to say she was happy, a sob came out. "I…. Meg, I never thought leaving would feel this way. I miss everything. I miss you, and Madame. I miss the music. I miss the way he would enter a room and cause mischief…." She smiled. "I miss the way he would make his presence known both audibly and visually…"

Meg arched her brow. "You mean Erik?"

"Erik? Who is….." She threw her hands over her mouth for a minute when she realized she never knew his name. "I never knew he had a name…." _God, I sound so stupid. Of course he has a name._

"You never asked." Meg didn't say it to be mean but it was the truth, wasn't it? "All humans have a name, Christine. Dogs, for that matter have one also. Do you think he was just a phantom or an angel? No in between?"

"No… Yes…. I…. I don't know!" She turned her back and then came over to sit next to Meg again. "Erik?" She said it once inside her head and then once more out loud. "Erik." This time with certainty. "It suits him….." She blushed when she said it again to herself.

The blush did not go unnoticed by Meg. "He's not well."

"How do you know that?" Her voice was suddenly full of concern.

"Christine you left him to the mob! They destroyed everything. I tried to go down to find him but all I uncovered was his mask. Nadir was with him in the beginning, so he wasn't completely alone but no one has been back to see him for three weeks."

"How… How do you know so much about him?" Christine started to feel jealously wash over her. _Wasn't he my angel? How would Meg know about his lair?_

This time it was Meg's turn to stand up. "You weren't the only little girl he used to care for. Mama and Erik were friends for years. After Papa died he helped us a lot. Then he went away for a few years and when he returned….. He was different. He never came to visit again and Mama told me to keep my distance yet I was never afraid of him. How could I? The man used to make me teddy bears and wooden horses. I just wished he would come around again. I missed how he would try to get me to laugh as a small child. Then you said you were visited by an angel of music and… I just figured he had another little girl to love."

"Meg….."

"No, it was okay. I was glad he stopped hiding. He didn't start seeing Mama again until you came to live at the Opera House. You brought him back to the living. You saved him."

_I saved him? He was my whole word for years and I betrayed him over and over again. _She then looked desperately at Meg. "Meg, I'm sorry. I never knew."

"How could you? You might not have asked but I never told you, either. In a way I was sworn to secrecy."

"I have to see him again, Meg." She got up and went to grab the invitation that was sitting inside the box. "We promised we would return to give him this." She showed it to Meg.

"Christine, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Showing him this would be beyond cruel. I want no part of it. "She shook her head. "No."

"Meg, I am doing what he wanted. I promised him. I cannot break another promise to him. And…."

"And what?"

"I need to know why he let me go."

Meg looked confused. "Isn't it obvious? He came to his senses. He might have loved you but he knew you didn't love him. Forcing you to choose him wouldn't be love."

"But I did…." She whispered.

"Come again?"

"I chose him that night, not Raoul."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you everyone for following, favoring and reviewing this story. I am so excited to see the responses. **

**Due to my "illustrious" job, I have to work this entire weekend in Atlanta. No time for fun but there is always time to write. **

Erik stared at Nadir in complete shock. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it just as quickly as he opened it. Nadir could see Erik's self-loathing get the better of him.

"Erik, don't jump to conclusions and make assumptions. I do not think the only place where you will be welcomed is a music conservatory for the blind. I do however feel that the coincidence is ideal."

"Ideal? So is to perish in the back and beyond!" He walked away and then turned his face to glance behind at the Persian. "Is that really what you think of me?"

"Erik, stop! You need to get out at once. Paris is no longer safe and the Opera House is not an option. You need to begin your life again in every way and that includes location. It will take time until the Phantom of the Opera legend dies down. Until then, obscurity is your only hope. So you will leave this place and begin again safe and sound where no one knows of the legend or would even imagine such a tale."

"Except in a nightmare….." Erik moaned.

Frustrated, Nadir sighed. "I am not going to have this argument with you again, Erik. You need a new venture and these children need you. I would have thought that you would have jumped at this chance."

"To teach blind children so I can use their disability to my advantage? My God, you do think I am a monster after all."

"Not use them to your advantage, my friend. Who better than you to understand their peril? They have been shunned from the world, unable to have the advantages that others with similar talents would have received because they are different. All because they were born with a disability that deemed them unequal to others or unworthy in this so called society we live in. All due to no fault of their own. Sound familiar? What better teacher could they receive than you?"

Erik remained silent as he took in all that Nadir was saying. All of a sudden a wave of obligation swept over him. "They have no one?"

"Not to teach and nurture their voices. For one, they can't afford a professor that is worth a damn and two, who would give them the time of day? Only someone who knows what it is like to have an immense talent and be shunned due to personal fears and prejudices."

Erik nodded. "Did I… Did I ever tell you when I was a boy and the priest in my hometown wanted me to attend a highly reputable architectural school?" He carried on, not waiting for Nadir to reply. "He fought tooth and nail with my mother to allow me to go and due to some miracle, she agreed. He felt my early sketches showed all the skill and promise to becoming a great builder."

"He was right, just look at this place." Nadir motioned to the lair and up above to the once fine and grandiose Opera House.

Erik nodded but looked away. "I was never taught by that school."

Nadir was about to question him but then realized why. "Your face. They turned you away because of your deformity. How did that make you feel?"

"What kind of an idiotic question is that, Daroga? I felt angry.. Worthless.. Lost…."

"Like these children feel, I would imagine. Yet if you were their teacher, they wouldn't have someone imagining their pain and suffering. They would have someone who knows it and can help them rise above it."

"I never rose above mine!"

"You didn't? Look where we are at? You built this place. You, the masked freak. Are you telling me you couldn't teach those children how to become something great, despite their shortcomings?"

"I….."

He placed his hands on Erik's shoulders. "Listen to me, man. This is your second chance. This is the way back into the light and redemption. You need it… More importantly Erik, you deserve it."

"What if I can't teach them the way I once did with Christine? What if I am finished?"

"What if you aren't? What if you have even more to give? Don't you want to find out?"

"Suppose…. Just suppose, I did agree to do this. Sure the children will accept me but they cannot live alone. There must be some headmaster or guardian that oversees the school. They can't all be blind. Are you saying the headmaster is prepared to overlook this?" He pointed to his unmasked face. "Granted, I will still wear my mask but….."

"I already told the elderly husband and wife that I have found a marvelous teacher of music, who just so happens to be a skilled mason. He is eager to teach again but suffered from a war injury and now wears a mask.

"A war injury?" Nadir laughed. "Good Lord, Nadir. You know for someone who doesn't like to lie…."

"They are even more eager to meet the hero and savior that has been sent to them to help the children. They think you are very brave and will make an excellent source of inspiration for them."

"You said they were an elderly couple?" Erik was no longer hiding his interest and Nadir smiled.

"They are married and inherited the school from the wife's parents who are now deceased." Nadir tapped Erik on the arm. "Still looking for an excuse not to go?"

Erik hesitated. He then looked at Nadir straight in the eye. "You really believe in me, Nadir?"

"Yes, Erik. I believe in you. I always have. It is you who must believe in yourself."

Erik touched his face. "I will need to secure a mask. Perhaps work on designing a new one…..

"You don't have much time. One of your spares will do. No one will be judging them or you, Erik. Not anymore."

Erik reluctantly agreed. "They will have to do. I have already put you and Annie in enough danger and the longer I stay here, the riskier it gets."

"Then you will accept this commission and leave at once?"

He smiled weakly. "I will leave by tomorrow afternoon. Can you let them know?"

"I already told them you accepted." He grinned victoriously.

"Watch it, Daroga! No one likes a cocky, Persian." He shook his head.

"Uh, Erik…. I do have one request."

"One request? Wasn't this enough to last a lifetime? Now what is it?"

Nadir became somber. "Go see Annie before you leave. She needs to see you before you go. Who knows how long it will be before it is safe to visit. I will keep her informed but that is not the same thing. Please, tell her goodbye."

Erik nodded. "I will go to her, Daroga. First I must make some plans, though. "Antoinette is not the only woman I must make peace with."

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Meg could not get her words out fast enough.

"You chose him? But you were secretly engaged to the Vicomte. You said you wanted him." She watched Christine move to the other side of the room and saw her eyes fill up with tears. "Are you in love with Erik?"

"Please don't ask me that…. I don't know what I feel anymore!" She started to get agitated.

Meg stood up and began walking towards her only to stop when she heard her friend whisper something she couldn't hear. "What did you say?"

"I only know I feel this enormous amount of regret." Christine looked up at Meg. "I feel so ashamed of what I did and how I acted. I'm mortified that I would let society pull me away from something they dictated as being wrong. Why should they decide what is right for me? What made me give my mind to them blindly?"

"By society, do you mean Raoul?"

"All of them…" Christine's voice was barely audible.

For a moment Meg wondered if Carlotta had actually been right about Christine's mental state. "Christine, are you…Mad? You have been under an awful amount of stress these last few weeks, well months even."

"Oh Meg, I never wanted to be used as bait to trap my angel…. To trap Erik that night." Christine cursed herself. She had no right to call him her anything, least of all her angel. For how could she justify such a private nickname any longer? Aren't nicknames a personal sign of affection? An exchange of intimacies and secrets shared between two people? What right did she have to share anything with him after what she did?

"He was my friend, my guide and guardian for longer than I can remember. I never wanted to hurt him. It was Raoul….. Raoul who told me that I had to do it if I wanted the madness to stop." She laughed in a voice neither she nor Meg recognized as her own. "The joke was on us. For the madness only increased and took on a life of its own when I walked on the stage as Amita."

Christine's mind went back in time when she began telling Meg all she was feeling while she performed Don Juan Triumphant. "On stage, I was a different person. The music was different. I was no longer scared or shy. I began to respond with every raw and passionate note. The feeling of danger and seduction completely overtook me. The role was an actor's dream and for a singer…. The music pushed me to my very core. I was alive and free. I never wanted it to end."

She seemed to need support in order to continue so she sat down on a chair near the balcony window, staring out into the night. "Singing those words to Piangi would have been hard for anyone but when he stepped out onto the stage, I knew it wasn't Piangi. If it wasn't Erik's grace and presence that made me recognize him, any remaining doubt left my mind when I heard him sing. Every fiber in my being was drawn to him."

"Are you saying you weren't scared when you realized it was him and not Piangi?"

"Scared?" She shook her head. "I was overjoyed. I could always sense his presence. I was happy to know that despite everything, I hadn't lost that ability to be connected to him."

"Then why…. Why did you unmask him in front of the audience? What possessed you to emasculate him in such a way? This doesn't make any sense, Christine."

"Raoul." Her voice was full of shame.

"I still don't understand."

"My heart was racing and I was nervous but not for my life, for his. I had to cause a diversion to distract the guards and then hopefully he could escape."

"You mean by showing everyone Erik's face, the shock would cause everyone to become too panicked to react?"

She nodded shamefully. "I didn't want to upset him…."

"Upset him? Well that's one word for it." Mg recalled the look of rage and betrayal in Erik's eyes when he grabbed Christine and made them both vanish down below.

"So you chose him when you left the stage with him?"

"No. I was furious that he abducted me in that way. He had no right to just take me like that. When we got to his lair, we were both so angry. I can't even remember all I said to him but at one point the anger stopped and we were talking, really talking. No longer was I his pupil or his object of obsession. He was looking to me for answers, for guidance. I was overcome with the irony and yet I was so deeply moved that he would still look to me for support after what had just happened."

"What did he ask you?"

"He….." She hesitated. She wasn't sure if Meg knew about Erik's past with his mother. She felt strangely protective of his past. Finally, she decided to confide in her. "He told me about his mother."

Meg nodded. "Mama said that she was a despicable woman."

Christine's heart ached. "He told me that she loathed him because of his face and gave him a mask as his first scrap of clothing. A mask….. For a baby? What kind of a mother would do that? How could anyone grow up in a household like that? No wonder he turned to violence and bloodshed."

"Did you tell him that?"

"Before I could respond, Raoul appeared."

Meg gasped. _Mama's interference. What could have changed that night if Raoul had not been able to follow them? Would Erik and Christine have reached an understanding? Would fear have turned to love? _"But Christine, I still don't see how Erik thought you chose him other than out of fear."

Christine stood up, almost as if she had found her courage again. "When he gave me the ultimatum to either marry him or watch Nadir Khan and Raoul die, I told him I would marry him only I didn't think words would be enough."

"Did he… No! He couldn't have asked you to…."

"Never! He wouldn't even watch me get into the wedding gown he asked me to wear."

"Wait? He asked you to wear it? He didn't force you?"

She shook her head once more. "No, he asked."

Far beyond intrigued, Meg asked in frenzy, "So what did you do to prove it to him?"

"I told myself I had to do this. I needed to have courage and courage would set us all free." She then watched Meg's face as she spoke the next sentence. "I kissed him."

"On the cheek?" Meg asked cautiously.

Christine blushed and looked down at her feet. "On the lips as lovers do."

"Christine, it was to save the Vicomte. You said it yourself….."

"Was it? Maybe the first kiss was but…." She placed her hand over her forehead.

"The first kiss? Exactly how many times did you kiss him?"

Christine ignored the question and instead went on to describe the kiss and all its wonder. "We kissed or rather I kissed him. His body felt as if it went into complete shock. Then I held him. I wanted to calm him and let him know it was alright. Only as I was holding him, I found such a comfort in his arms that I wasn't sure anymore who was comforting who? I wasn't sure if his arms were indeed the ones that were providing the assurance to me and not the other way around."

She walked over to Meg and sat on the bed. "I don't know what came over me but I kissed him again but this time….. This time it was so much more than a kiss. I had never felt that way before. I had never been kissed like that before. I took him in completely and I tasted him. I allowed him to taste me." She blushed again and couldn't go on.

Meg was too caught up in the story to stop now. "What happened next?"

Christine spoke in regret. "The mob…..We heard the mob coming and that is what forced us to break apart."

She thought back to his perfect misshapen lips and how they felt when they touched hers. The electrical charge she felt left her wanting more and after retelling her story to Meg she realized she still wanted more. _It was over far too soon. I can't even bring myself to kiss Raoul for fear that the memory of how Erik's lips felt pressed against my own will vanish. If I am to only have that memory, I need to treasure it for the rest of my life. _She could sense Meg wanted her to say more but she didn't dare reveal those thoughts to her.

What kind of self-respecting woman would kiss a man first, let alone one that wasn't her fiancé? _I have never acted like that before. Why is it that he caused such feelings to stir in me that night? _Christine then remembered that this wasn't the first time Erik stirred such feelings in her. She remembered when she first realized he was a man and sang to her in his lair. His voice and their touches made her feel different. She felt alive and tingly. She wanted to run away from those feelings and yet she wanted to experience them again. What was wrong with her?

_Raoul's' affection has always been tame and appropriate. That is how love should be, no? Erik was wild and full of this dark fire…..I was filled with fire whenever we were close. Those desires are not appropriate…._

"So he broke the kiss?" Meg was wondering where Christine had gone to. It was obvious she was in her own world.

Embarrassed, Christine nodded and then turned away.

"He let you all go and then went into hiding to escape?"

She turned and took Meg's hand. She was determined to get Meg to understand how important this was. "That's when he made us promise to return with the invitation. One minute he wanted me forevermore and the next he just cast me aside. If he loved me, how could he do that? He should have at least explained to me why he changed his mind. I wasn't even able to say goodbye to him. He just told us to go and turned to Nadir. Don't you see why I must go to him and give him this?" She took the invitation that Meg had let fall next to the bed.

Meg was tempted to respond but thought twice. Clearly Christine was still very confused over her feelings and Erik wasn't the only one who was left broken that night. Christine was a mess of contradictions and for whatever reason, she seemed to be denying what her heart and body were telling her when it came to Erik. Almost as if she wasn't ready to accept it yet. Was it because she couldn't see herself with a deformed man? Was she afraid of what others thought or how others saw her? Meg dismissed it. _No, she isn't like that. Not the Christine I know. But if that isn't it? What is it? Could she still fear Erik's rage? She then decided to remind Christine that Raoul would not approve._

"Even if you did arrange to see Erik again, how would you explain it to the Vicomte? How would you get his consent?"

"He can't keep me a prisoner here. If Erik allowed me to go free, then why shouldn't Raoul? We were supposed to return together but if Raoul won't keep his promise that is on his conscience, not mind. I will see Erik tomorrow and we shall make our peace and then…. Then we both can start our new lives."

"Together or apart?" Meg asked with her eyebrow raised.

"Meg, I'm engaged. I'm practically married. My new life is here. What would make you say that?"

_Is that why she won't acknowledge her feelings? Due to her engagement? _ "Christine, you said it yourself that you are not a prisoner here. You are not married yet, thus you still have options."

"Meg, I'm going to see all my commitments through. That is what is expected of me and how my Papa would want me to be. First, I will bring Erik his invitation and then I will marry Raoul."

"Out of obligation to your commitments?"

"Well of course! What other reason would there be?"

Meg sighed. "I don't know, Christine. What ever happened to love?"


	4. Chapter 4

Christine couldn't sleep at all that night. Meg's words kept coming back to haunt her. Why didn't she tell Meg she loved Raoul? Why would she speak of her engagement as only a commitment? She tossed and turned and finally she gave up the pretense of sleeping. She got out of her bed, wrapped the robe around her and headed straight to the balcony where she could get some much needed air.

When she saw the sun just about to rise, she closed her eyes and allowed the warmth to wash over her. A smile graced her face. "The light… I always took it for granted. I wonder if my angel would enjoy the sun, if only he didn't feel as if he had to hide from it." She placed her hand over her mouth as if she had cursed. "There I go again, calling him my angel." She sighed. "Mine… He isn't mine. He doesn't want me….. Lord knows he doesn't need me either. He showed me that much." There was a strange bitterness to her tone and Christine wondered why. "He did what I had wanted him to do. He let me go…. Then why am I so upset over that?"

Christine began to rationalize that she was upset because Erik knew she had betrayed him. She told herself that even if she didn't love him, she still didn't want him to hate her. She could never bring herself to disappoint him. She had lived for his praise since she was seven years old. It hardly seemed feasible to suddenly stop wanting it now.

"Christine, you ninny. You break his heart yet you don't want him to hate you. What sort of spoiled, selfish, twit did you grow up to be?" She shook her head and tried to fight the tears starting to form. "Oh Papa! What would you say to me now? I am a mess. I disrespected all the people I loved. You…. Erik…. Erik? Love…. No, that isn't possible. It is his music, his care and his nurturing. That's what I love. I wasn't in love with the man….. He was an image, an angel…. A lie." The last word caused her voice to crack.

"No, I wasn't meant to love him. His love caused things in me that were not proper…. Those feelings are not normal. I never felt more exposed in my whole life when we were alone and he held me…. Yes, it was exhilarating but it was terrifying too…. Papa, you wanted me safe. I couldn't feel safe if I feared losing control over my own body! Raoul." She said his name as a means to assure herself. "Raoul will keep me safe. I never feel…..Those thoughts of wickedness with Raoul. Those feelings can lead to rash and unacceptable behavior. I could never be so impulsive."

"My angel…. Erik, made me want more. More of everything. More feelings, more impulses… More…" She stopped herself and caught her breath. She was replaying the night of Don Juan and she could feel her body become alive as she imagined the way he touched her, before she exposed his face. She wasn't sure if she blocked that image from her mind because of how his caress had made her feel or if it was because she had hurt him so and couldn't relive the image. What right did she have to feel pleasure when her actions caused him pain?

"These feelings must stop! No good can come from them. Look at Erik… He let his passions consume him and now he is all alone and ….." She quickly went inside her bedroom and shut the balcony door. She tried to stop thinking about him but it was impossible now. "He never lost his passions. Despite everything. Despite the way he was shunned and left alone. Despite the neglect of a mother or anyone to truly love him, he still loved. He still found it in his heart to fall in love with me… A life full of pain and yet he still felt love for me." She shook her head. "He let me go because he loved me. A simple, unselfish act driven by love…" She spoke in wonder. "If only I could love like that."

She forced herself to get dressed. She was walking from the bathroom to the closet without much thought, almost as if she was utilizing every possible muscle to find the energy to go through the mundane tasks of her morning ritual. All routine, with no heart. She passed a mirror and what she saw frightened her. She knew she could not go on this way. She could not go another minute knowing that her angel hated her. Despite all her wrongs, she knew she could never be happy if he thought ill of her. Not him. Not her maestro…. Her friend….. Her angel. She said it out loud. "My angel. Whether it is right or wrong, that is what he will always be to me."

She started to get excited for the first time in weeks. "I will go to him with the invitation and ask forgiveness. I will do all I can to show him that while what we had was not love, it was pure and I….. Oh No!" Her words echoed from the past in her ear.

_It is in your soul, where the true distortion lies. _

She hadn't been able to remember much of their conversation that night but now everything seemed to be coming back to her. "I said that?! When I said those words to him his eyes…. They carried all the sadness of world. I caused that. If he truly was a cold and vicious killer, would he have cared so much of what I had to say?"

She sat down, defeated. "Oh Papa, what have I done? Where do I go from here? What if he looks at me and spits in my face? I have no right to beg his forgiveness. I have brought his life nothing but woe and yet without it, I will not be able to move on. I know I should let him be and suffer internally for the hurt I caused him but I am selfish, Papa. I need to know that he still thinks of me as he once did. I need to know that I might be able to make him proud of me once more."

She stood up with a new sense of purpose. "I will finish dressing and find Raoul. I will tell him I am going back…. I am not asking his permission to go back…." She nodded forcefully. "I will tell him I am returning to the Opera House with or without him." _Angel, please forgive me. It is the only way we both will be free._

After an hour, Christine was getting impatient. She was pacing in her room, trying to find the courage to face Raoul when she heard a knock on her door.

"Yes?"

"Lottie, it's me." Raoul rolled his eyes, loathing to have to ask permission to enter his own house but wanted to be accommodating today of all days. "May I come in?"

As he waiting for her response, he told himself to keep calm. He had to get Christine to agree and losing his temper was not likely going to make that happen. He did stop and wonder what would happen if she did refuse to leave. Would he actually be happy and forget the entire arrangement with Phillip or would he find another way to see Melanie? Would he be able to truly forget the events of that night and their so called escape?

She opened the door and Raoul greeted her with a quick smile. "Good Morning, Lottie."

She met his smile but her eyes were empty. "Good morning, Raoul. Did you sleep well?"

He walked by her, clutching his hands together. "Yes, I did. For you see, I have a surprise for you."

"For me?"

He turned and took her hand in his. I have a wedding present for you. Well, for us, really."

She looked at him oddly. "Shouldn't we be married before we give each other wedding presents?"

Raoul made a face. "We are engaged, Lottie. It is a month away." He released her hand and walked over to the invitations. He picked one up. "Remember?"

'Yes, of course dear. I only meant….."

"No matter." He dismissed her coldly and it did not go unnoticed by Christine. "Now then, my surprise is that I want you to sing a love song to me at our wedding. A final solo from Paris' own Diva." He said the last line a little too smugly. "What better way to solidify our love, than you singing how much you love me and only me."

"Singing, Raoul? But you told me that you didn't approve of my singing once we got married. You said…"

"As a common worker, Christine. This is altogether different. This will be for me and me alone. My wife will sing for me."

_Sing for me? _ Raoul sounded possessive like her angel had once been, only Erik had a right to be possessive. Her voice was his. Raoul on the other hand….

"One last time, Christine. I will then have your final memories of song be for me and in a place of purity and love. Not of lust and debauchery to that thing on the stage for all of Paris' eyes to see."

"What?"

"You heard me." His words cut her like a knife. "You will be dressed in white and singing love for me and not dressed in some scandalous rag, trying to seduce a corpse!"

"How dare you? It was you who wanted me to play that dangerous game. You knew I didn't want to do it and yet you pushed and pushed and told me that I had no other choice. Now you stand here and say you can't look at me without seeing that night?"

"I know what I did. But I also know what you did and while you tell me your act on stage was purely an act… What do you call your conduct when we were down below?"

Christine's eyes widened and Raoul knew he had gone too far. "I'm sorry, Christine. I just….. I can't have your last song be to him. I won't go to my grave with that. You will need to purify yourself to me. You will learn a new love song for me and then we can move past this and get on with our lives, as we always should have done."

"Purify myself? What have I done that merits redemption of sin? I saved your life!"

She knew Raoul didn't want her to sing but she had thought it was driven by his family and their nobility. Now it was crystal clear that he was denying her love of singing because he felt it would shame him. It was his idea to have her sing that night. He was the reason she put her angel in danger and now he was disgusted with her and thought she needed to be made clean?

"You didn't commit any sacrifice, Christine. I saw you. I saw your hands all over that thing! I saw you kiss him and take his lips not once but twice. Tell me, was it the first time or was it just a repeat performance of all the other nights you portrayed the part of the Phantom's whore!"

She slapped him hard. "You bastard! How could you say that me? You are supposed to love me."

"I am marrying you, aren't I?" He placed his hand on his cheek. "You owe me this."

"Owe you for what?"

He dismissed her question. "I am leaving on business. You are to go to a music conservatory, where you will study a love song for our wedding."

"Study….. You mean to have me learn from someone else?" The mere idea of having another tutor other than Erik, made Christine feel physically sick. She could never bring herself to study with someone else. She had betrayed Erik long enough. There was no way she would hurt him this way. Her voice was his and his alone and it always would be.

"Don't tell me you feel loyal to a madman who lied and told you he was your Angel of Music? Wake up, Christine. The man was a fraud."

"No, he was …. He was…"

"A murdered. This hold over you that he still possess, dear God, Lottie. Is it any wonder why I want this nightmare to end once and for all? Do this for me. If you wish to marry me, you will do this."

"How can you ask me to do this? It is one thing that I give up music for you but to ask me to take the music and cheapen it with someone else….. No, I will not do this."

"You owe him nothing!"

"He made my voice take flight. He was responsible for me obtaining the lead role and because of that we met again. Surely you can be grateful to him for that much at least?"

"Grateful for what?" He spoke under his breath. This wasn't going well at all. He had to think fast. "Fine, don't go to the school. But you will learn a love song for me and that will be the last time you are to ever sing again. At our wedding, showering your love for me. You will leave today."

"Leave? You wish me to leave this house? Why?"

"I told you. I am leaving on business and I don't think is appropriate for you to stay her without me. My family can be…. Unkind."

"It is not as if you have done anything to change their minds. You just accept their actions and allow them to think poorly of me." She looked away from him.

"Lottie… You just need to give my family time. They hardly have gotten to know you because you have been keeping to yourself in this room for all this time." He saw her face turn. "While I am away, you should take this time to visit the Girys. You told me you have missed them."

"Yes and they have missed me." She paused to see if he would question her comment but when she saw how he ignored her, she thought it for the best. She didn't want Meg to get into trouble.

"Since they cannot come to the wedding, this will be a perfect little visit to say a proper goodbye. Come now, I am sure are still a disciplined student to learn a new song, even if it is on your own."

"What does that mean? Do you really think I prostituted myself to get my roles?" Her voice was in shock. _What happened to that sweet, caring boy at the sea?_

"No…. I…" He sank his body into a chair. _This is a disaster._

Christine's eyes went to the invitation. _Freedom. I could return to the Opera House and see my angel. I can make good on our promise and then, then… _"I'll do it."

Raoul looked up. "Really, Lottie? This is the right decision. You see that don't you? I know I said some upsetting things but you can only imagine what I have been hearing from my family. The nightmares I have had of you and that….. That… Abomination. The fact that you want to sing a new song for me and our love makes it alright. That is what you want, isn't it?"

Christine nodded, afraid what her mouth would say if she opened it.

He smiled and walk towards her. He took her in his arms and kissed her hard on the lips.

"Raoul! What are you doing?" She pushed him away instantly.

"What do you mean, what am I doing? What is it lately? Why do you not want me to kiss you?"

"Because lately every kiss of yours feels as if it is fueled by possession and not love."

"And you know the difference?"

"Excuse me?"

"My lips are not of a deformed freak who couldn't find consensual love so he had to kidnap for it."

"His lips were filled with more love than yours have been since we got here!"

"Why you little, Delilah!" He lunged at her and raised his hand, ready to strike her down but he stopped himself before his closed fist hit her cheek. He moved back, shocked by his rage.

Christine was still flinching, afraid he was going to strike her after all.

He caught his breath as he spoke. "I am leaving this afternoon. I will be back in three weeks' time. When I return you will be ready to marry me and sing for me, Christine and we shall never speak of this again." He left the room quickly.

Christine froze for a moment and then hurried to the door and slammed it hard in an effort to release her fear and frustration. She then ran to the box of invitations.

"I will come to you, angel. I will disappoint you no longer!"

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Erik ignored the disapproving look that Nadir gave him when he carried a long, red rose with a black ribbon tied around the stem, as he traveled up above to the Opera House. He knew it wasn't safe but he reassured himself that he would in and out before anyone could blink twice. He looked down at the beautiful rose and sighed. For it wasn't Erik's insistence on going up above one last time that cause Nadir concern, it was his insistence on saying goodbye properly to his rose.

_Damn it, Daroga! Don't you see I have to do this? She may be gone but her memory lives on and if I am to truly leave this place, I must make my peace once and for all._

He spoke to himself, as he crossed the passage way that led to the chapel. Once he saw the entrance he approached cautiously and extended his ear to ensure no one was inside. Upon satisfaction that he was alone, he entered and looked around the room.

"In this room is where it all began. I heard her cry out for help and I had never been so moved before in all my life." He looked at the rose in his hand. "Do you remember, angel when there was a time that you lived for me and only wanted to be with me?" He smiled briefly at the thought. "You asked God for an angel. I intervened because I knew that if left up to God, you would be disappointed."

He went to sit down and thought back to the night he had first heard Christine Daae's voice. "So lost, so helpless. Begging for a friend or at least her promised angel from her dead father. In all these years, I still don't know what made her words and cries tug so at my heart? What would have happened if I had just ignored her and kept walking? Would we have ever met? Would she have stayed? Would I have terrorized her another way?"

He stood up and gave the room one final glance. He then kissed the rose bud and dropped it on the floor. _One more stop. _He continued his journey to the infamous dressing room he had only dared to enter once in his life. The night he revealed himself to his angel and hoped that she would be different than the rest. He stood up against the mirror entrance and prepared himself for what he was about to see.

He opened the mirror and entered the now deserted dressing room. Next, he pulled out a second red rose with a black ribbon around its stem and lingered about for a moment. He thought of Nadir and how he would voice is disapproval.

_Get out of there, Erik. You have no right to be here. You never did. Not then and certainly not now. _

"Ah, Christine….The last time I was in the room, I could hardly keep my heart from exploding out of my chest. You were such a triumph and it was for me….We were a team. My spirit and your voice, unleashed for the first time for all the world to hear. I had never been more in love with you. Yet….That wasn't my only motivation for revealing myself to you."

He thought of the boy. The peacock that busted into his Christine's dressing room and tried to make his claim over her in one swoop, when he has spent years trying to gain her trust and favor. Could all of his hard work be undone due to a pretty face?

"Yes, he was handsome but no heart. He let you out of his sight so he could go a retrieve his so called fashion hat! What a pansy." Erik rolled his eyes. "I knew I had to make you see me for me and remind you of why we were a much better pair. I suppose, looking back now it was all wrong. For even though you were intrigued by my music and night, you realized that your so called angel, was a fraud."

He closed his eyes and removed his mask. "A fraud and a freak. Why did I infer my fears onto you? Why didn't I allow you to react first and then see if my judgment was accurate? You drew back in fear but I must have looked like some sort of hideous beast with manners to match his looks. You told me my haunting face, left no horror for you, rather it was my soul that was truly distorted. What if I had remained meek and gentle and allowed you to explore each crevice? The feel of your fingers on my face was beyond anything I had ever known." He touched his face as he remembered her soft fingertips. "I was hurt by your betrayal and yet didn't I betray you too? I was so quick to condemn you for sins of the past that I reacted before you could commit any yourself." He placed his mask back on. "No wonder you ran away as fast as you did."

He kissed the rose and looked down at the blooming bud. "I know this means nothing now but if I could go back and change my actions, I would. If I could go back….Reveal myself as a man from that very first day, who only wanted to nurture you, maybe then you would have seen comfort and familiarity the night of your debut? Maybe if I hadn't forced what I was upon you, your emotions would have changed from friend to lover? Maybe without fear, love would have emerged?"

"Shut up you old, fool. She is in a better place. I would have only brought her down and she deserved more." He then thought back to the moment that he knew he would take with him to his grave. The moment he told no one about, not even Nadir. "Her two kisses will forever remind me of her innocence and her ability to pity all creatures, including a wretch like me."

He reluctantly released the rose to the floor and walked to the mirror. As he turned around one final time he spoke in a whisper. "Forgive me and forget me."

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Nadir was madder than hell.

"That fool! He is wasting precious time. Why go above and risk being seen? Why when we are so close to being free of this nightmare?" He stopped himself. He knew why. _Christine Daae….. _"Why can't you just let him go? Isn't it bad enough you took his heart? Why take his thoughts too?"

He knew his rant was ridiculous. First and foremost the girl wasn't there and second, she wasn't to blame for Erik's feelings. After all, you can't control who you fall in love with. Yet he did find it troubling that a woman of 18, who was able to carry an entire performance on stage and win the hearts of an audience, believed that an angel existed and tutored only her? True that story can seem possible at age seven or eight or even 12 but at 18?

"She is able to bring a Parisian Opera audience to their knees and consent to marry a Vicomte but she couldn't rationalize that a man had been protecting her and guiding her for 11 critical, developmental years of her life? What's more disturbing is how she looked when Erik had let her go. Her eyes….. Was it shock? She just looked as if she didn't want to leave and then she made the ludicrous promise to return with a wedding invitation! Was she truly that dim or was she a calculating opportunist?"

_I thank Allah he is leaving and will no longer be bombarded with thought of her and reminders of his madness. He needs to be free of her and forget the pain she caused, whether by accident or on purpose._

Nadir walked over to the shelf and opened a bottle of whiskey, pouring himself a glass. He then made a face. "What kind of…" He then looked at the bottle and smelled the contents. "Erik, you bastard! You switched the alcohol in this bottle with prune juice!" He looked up above. "He goes to pay homage to the woman who despises him but disrespects me, his friend at every turn." He then laughed despite his annoyance.

"Help him, Allah. Help him rise above this and help me show him a better way."

Just then he heard footsteps and a rustling outside the doorway. He looked at his pocket watch and realized that Erik couldn't have gone up and then over to Antoinette's so soon. Someone was coming and chances are it was not a friend. He picked up the bottle and poured the content to the ground. Once empty, he grasped the bottleneck and lifted it over his shoulder, ready to strike the moment the enemy crossed the doorway.

Meanwhile, Christine was elated that she had found her way to Erik's lair on her own and had managed to avoid the so called traps that were placed to keep intruders out. She remembered keeping her hand at the level of her eyes for fear of the lasso but then she decided using her hand for balance would be a much better resource.

When she arrived, her heart sank. _Was this really what became of my angel's beautiful home? My God, what happened? Did the mob….._ She then panicked. What if they had hurt him? She knew Meg told her that Nadir had been with him but Nadir Khan couldn't spend all his time with him. What if the mob had returned and gotten to him after all?

She saw an open doorway and went running towards it, calling after her angel.

_A/N: I hope Nadir has bad aim…._


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for your wonderful reviews and support. You have no idea how happy I am to see so many of you return as well as see new reviewers come and share their thoughts. Indeed, it looks as if our super couple are under the same roof but have you ever heard of the expression, so close and still so far? ;) **

**All I can say is trust me and I own nothing….. On with the show!**

Christine crossed the doorway as she went running into the next room and screamed when she saw a bottle coming towards her head.

"Erik?! " Her eyes looked up. "No! Stop, Monsieur!"

Nadir had aimed right at the intruder's head and would have broken the bottle, had he not jerked at the scream and realized it was a woman. He froze in horror but regained his composure when he saw who it was.

"Mlle Daae?"

"Oh, Monsieur Khan! Thank goodness. I saw the terrible way the lair looked and thought…" She stopped herself and looked around. "Erik….. Where is Erik?"

_Erik? When did Erik ever tell her his name? _"You knew his name? Why would you have called him by his name if you thought he was an angel or a phantom?" Nadir's tone was suspicious.

Christine looked down in shame. "I wish to see him. Please, can you tell him I have returned?"

"Returned? You come back here after all that transpired and expect to just see him as if he were composing in the next room? Why would you even think of…" He saw the envelope that Christine clutched in her hand. "Dear Allah, you returned to bring him the invitation." He was dumbfounded.

Christine didn't know whether to say yes or no. True, the invitation was to make good on her promise to her angel but was that the only reason? Didn't she wish to talk to him? To tell him…. No, to ask him….

"You really didn't have to return, Mademoiselle. Erik has long forgotten your empty promises." He looked away. _He must not see her here. If he does, he will forget all talk of leaving and think there is still a chance for him to be in this young, ignorant girl's life._

"Monsieur Khan, I came back to see Erik. I need to speak with him one more time. There is so much I wish to say to him…. To ask him…. I need to make sure he is alright."

Nadir cursed under his breath. _So it is to appease her guilty conscience. I can't have her remain here. If Erik talks to her, he will misinterpret her act of misguided kindness_ _and think she came back because she loves him. I will not have her ruin all the progress he has made and accepting his chance for a new life._

"You shouldn't have come back. Erik doesn't need to see the invitation of your marriage to his rival. I don't care what he told you. Your being here is cruel and with malice intent." He saw her shake her head. "What? Are you going to stand there and tell me that now you have had a change of heart? That now you wish to pledge allegiance to the monster, who you hated and betrayed on more than one occasion?"

"He is not a monster! I didn't mean to hurt him. I never wanted to hurt my angel. I came back because I promised him I would and I could not betray him any longer. We all said things and did things we didn't mean that night. I am here because I wanted to be able to speak freely to him and finally make sense of all that has passed between us."

"You have no right to come here, Mademoiselle. Your rightful place is with your fiancé. Erik knew that. That is why he let you go. You should have stayed away. This encounter is not good for anyone."

"But I need…."

He scoffed. "Need? This is not about what you need!" He came towards her and she backed away in fear. Nadir realized what he was doing and stopped in his tracks. He lifted his hand up. "I am sorry. I did not mean to frighten you. But I ask that you leave here and let Erik be."

"He wanted to see me. I don't wish to hurt him. I only wish to…."

"To what? Torment him and remind him that he will never have you? That you will never be his? Remind him of his horrific actions that he still cannot forgive himself for?"

She shook her head profusely. "No, Never. I only want to tell him that I don't hate him and I don't want him to hate me either. I need him to still think of me as…."

"As what? His angel?" Nadir snickered. "Forgive me, Mademoiselle, but you are not his and he is not yours. There is no need to lie and pretend as you did that night. He is no longer asking you to make an impossible choice."

"He didn't ask me to make an impossible choice. He only asked me to…." _Share one love, one lifetime with him. _Christine paused in confusion and closed her eyes as she tried to stop the voice inside her head.

Nadir took advantage of her eyes being closed and exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He knew he needed to get Christine out of there before Erik saw her. For if he didn't, he was not confident how his friend would react. He wanted to hope that Erik would remain strong but he couldn't take that chance.

"Christine…"

"Monsieur Khan, I must ask that you trust me. I will not hurt him. I only wish to talk to him and say…Goodbye." _Really, Christine? Do you only mean to tell him goodbye?_

"You can't!"

"Why are you doing this? I swear to you, I will not hurt him! I will never hurt him again. If you just tell me where he is….."

"I can't!" _For both your sakes._

"Why not!" She was furious, only she couldn't explain why. Was it really at the Persian or was it at herself? Wasn't she to blame for his resistance? Why shouldn't she have to beg to see Erik? Wasn't he the man that rebuilt her life after she thought all hope was gone? He did all that for her and how did she repay him? _I left him vulnerable for the world to see him and broken, so very broken. He is right, Christine. You should be groveling on your knees. _"I beg you….."

Nadir didn't hear her words. He was too busy trying to reason that he was doing the right thing. "I don't know where he is." _Forgive me, Allah._

"You don't…. What do you mean? You said he…"

"I said you shouldn't have come to throw your wedding invitation in his face. I never said he was still here. Really, what did you expect? Did you think he would remain at the mercy of the mob? Erik hid and as soon as it was safe enough, he left the hurt behind. He told me he was going to find peace. I can not think of a man who deserves it more."

"Gone?" Christine sat motionless on a dusty chair.

"He asked that I not follow him and let him make contact once he was ready. After all that has transpired between us, it was the least I could do."

"He left the Opera House? But he's all alone? How can he remain safe and in the shadows while still trying to find peace? He needs to accept who he is and know that he is good and has a beautiful soul that only needs to be nurtured and loved."

Nadir's eyebrow rose. "Funny how you see that now? Erik would not want pity, Mademoiselle. He would wish to be left alone and concentrate on his inner peace. You both made choices and now you both must live with them." _Why would she say that if she feared him?_

Christine thought she was in a very bad dream. "I lost him again." Her words were a mere whisper.

"Return to your Vicomte, Mademoiselle Daae and forgot this place and all the ties that it holds for you. You both need to move on."

She heard her words coming back to mock her. "So we can both move on."

"You really shouldn't stay here. I only came to secure the passageways. Intruders have been coming to try and steal a glimpse of the infamous Opera Ghost. It is time we lay him to rest forever."

Christine stood up, regal like a queen and walked out of the room. Ever the actress, she tried to hide the tears that began swelling up in her eyes. Yet the moment she passed the lake, her sobs took control as she managed to make her way up above.

Nadir ran his hands through his hair and tried to block out the young woman's cries. When it proved useless, he kneeled down and spoke in desperation.

"Help me Allah, for I have sinned."

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Antoinette was making tea in an attempt to keep her mind busy. When the kettle whistled, she jumped up and then cursed at her stupidity.

"You nitwit." Her hand was still covering her heart. "The tea is to make you calm, not rile you up." She went to the kitchen and returned with her cup in hand, only to see Erik appear before her. "How did you…" She spilled some tea on the floor.

Erik came to her aid and took his handkerchief out to help wipe the liquid from the floor. "Did I frighten you? I'm sorry, Annie. I seem to have that effect on people." He looked up and winked, which caused her to laugh despite her mixed emotions.

Erik stood up. "So now I am the Opera Clown? I am not sure that is any better than Opera Ghost, hmm?"

The ballet mistress threw her arms around him, causing Erik to step back. "Erik, I have missed you so!"

He smiled and found the need to hug his friend back. "I wasn't sure for a while how you would feel, dear sister." He pulled away to look at her. "Do you…. Can you forgive me?"

"Erik, it is so good to see you again. I never stopped… I hoped that…" She stopped herself from speaking gibberish. "Please sit. Have some tea." She gave him her cup as she moved the dining room chairs closer together. "Sit with me."

He hesitated for a moment but then allowed himself to sit and accept her hospitality. His eyes never left hers. "Annie….."

"Wait, please." She placed her hand on his. "I cannot go on this way. I must tell you the truth about that night."

"The truth?" Erik shook his head. "I know the truth and it haunts me. I know that I allowed obsession to cloud my judgment and hurt all the people that I love. It cost me my heart but I want you to know that I never meant to cause such disruption. I thought that if only Christine and I could talk. If only…." He sighed as he turned his face away.

"I know that you and she think me a cold hearted murder but….."

"Erik, stop!"

"No, Annie! I must say this."

"Erik, I know why you killed Joseph Buquet. My only regret is that you should have done it sooner! The man was a deplorable pig."

"Still I had no right to….." He looked at her strangely. "Dear God, did he try to…. Please tell me he never….."

"Erik, please. Who would want an old woman like me? But Meg….. I knew he lusted after her and countless other girls, including Christine. He could have done any of them harm if it hadn't been for you."

Erik's eyes widened. "Little Meg and Christine?"

She touched his hand. "It's alight. You stopped it."

"But I killed him because he was coming after me. There was no noble purpose. It was either him or me and…."

"And I thank God it was him." She made him look at her. "Self-defense, Erik. Your life was worth preserving. I lived in fear for so long, wondering when he would try something. You did what I couldn't do."

Erik's eyes filled with tears. "But Piangi…"

"Erik, you were not yourself that night. You said it yourself but you realized it before it was too late. Everyone has forgiven you. Please dear brother, forgive yourself."

"Not everyone. Carlotta hasn't forgiven me. I took away the man she loved. And Christine…" He couldn't finish his sentence. Knowing that she hated and feared him would be more torture than having to endure eternal damnation.

"Erik, you must move on. "

"How?" His pleading voice was barely recognizable to Antoinette."

"By granting forgiveness to someone else."

"By granting…. What do you mean? Who?"

She got up and faced the fireplace. She was clutching her arms around her waist. "I did it."

Erik moved out of the chair to stand by her side. "Did what?"

"I was the one who told the Vicomte where to find you. I showed him to the lair."

Erik made a face. "Well, that explains it. I knew he wasn't clever enough find it on his own." He thought back to that night and how the Vicomte had stormed in, interrupting his conversation with Christine. _Conversation? Well maybe it wasn't that civilized but I felt as if we were really starting to talk. She wasn't accusing me or yelling at me at that point. _He dismissed the thought. _What does it matter now?_

"You did what you had to do to in order to stop the madness once and for all. You didn't know what I was capable of."

She tried to interrupt him but Erik stopped her. "Neither did I. It's over now and we can't change our actions, we can only move forward. You do not need to seek my forgiveness for anything. I was out of my wit and she is better off now. Better off without…."

"Erik, you may have lost your way but I know that if it hadn't been for you, Christine would have been lost years ago. You rebuilt her life."

"Only to almost destroy it again. I know now that it could never have been. Angels do not fall in love with demons."

She looked at him with such love as she shook her head. "Perhaps if I hadn't interfered, maybe you and she would have…"

Erik stopped her by placing his finger on her lips. "No need to make false hopes now, Antoinette. All the sympathy in the world cannot turn into love. The heart is a very perplexing muscle. It shows no mercy to anyone who gets in its way."

"She will miss you."

Erik had to laugh. "All I can hope for is that one day, many years from now when she might be able to stomach her past, she sees a small ray of light in the music we made. Maybe even that is too much to ask of her."

Hearing Erik speak of Christine's past made her pause. _Did he know? _"Erik, my indiscretion is not the only thing I am sorry for. I am not sure if I did the right thing…"

"Does this involve that night?"

"No." She shook her head nervously. "It involves Christine's past. Her mother. I am not sure if you ever knew this but Gustave Daae left me a letter that….."

"I know." He whispered.

"You know? How did…." She then rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, you know everything that goes on in you Opera House?"

Erik shrugged his shoulders. "It is a blessing and a curse. Yet it made no difference to me. Why should it? Christine is not her mother."

"But she could inherit the gene and…"

Erik dismissed it. "She is a woman now and if there were any signs of it, I would have noticed."

"I still think she should have known about her past and what her mother was."

"Some truths are not needed, Annie. It was bad enough she lost the only family she had ever known and was taken to be raised as a ward in a strange place. What good would telling her have served? She was not to blame."

"Do you think if it were ever found out that the Vicomte would leave her?"

Erik's blood started to boil. "That boy does not deserve her! He best treasure her like a ruby or a diamond. If he so much as abandons her for something like that, I will kill him and I don't care if I face prison, God's wrath. Satan's army or Nadir Khan's bellowing conscience!"

She was about to hug him when Meg came into the room.

"Mama, I want to ….. Oh! I am sorry." Meg gasped when she saw Erik. She didn't mean to interrupt her mother but seeing Erik in her own home again came as quite a surprise.

"Meg, there is no need to be afraid. Erik was saying goodbye."

"I am not afraid." She quickly responded. She then walked up closer to them. "Hello, Monsieur Erik." _I used to call you Uncle Erik. I bet you don't remember._

"I know you don't remember, little Giry but long ago you used to try and call me Uncle Erik. I say try because you couldn't quite say the word uncle." He smiled at her.

"You remember that?"

Antoinette smiled. "I think we could do with more tea. I will be back."

She stepped back into the kitchen and took a deep breath. She hadn't been this happy in a long time. Just then she felt someone touch her back and she jumped.

"Annie, don't scream! It is only me."

"Nadir? What the hell are you doing, sneaking up behind me like that? How did you get in?"

"Never mind that. Is Erik still here?"

"Never mind? I ought to….." She saw him tremble and decided to forget her anger and answer his question instead. "Yes, he is with Meg. What is it?"

He tried to compose himself. "I think I may have made a mistake."

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Meg couldn't shake the irony of it all and her amusement did not go unnoticed by Erik.

"You're laughing? I know I have caused tears, rage, and fear but laughter? So it appears as if I am to be the Opera Clown after all. Who would have thought?"

"It's just years ago, you came into my home as Erik and then when you were the Phantom of the Opera, you were everywhere, except here. Now, weeks after the Phantom mystic is fading, you return as Erik."

"Hmm... I suppose when you look at it that way, it's a bit comical. Perhaps a dark comedy or a comedy of errors. By the way, I never thanked you for causing a distraction and allowing me to escape and hide from the mob that night."

"What makes you think I caused a distraction?"

Erik looked at her coyly. "You mean you came down to trap me? Because if you did, you have a lot to learn about trying to trap a Phantom. You must be more inconspicuous."

She hid her grin but then looked serious. "How are you?"

Erik looked baffled. "In all the questions I have had to answer in the last few days, that hasn't been one of them."

"I am sorry. You seem….. Calm."

Erik laughed. "Yes, the madman is thinking clearly. Rest assured, I will not trouble you any longer. Your mother was right. I did come to say goodbye."

"You don't have to." She went to pull the chair out and invited him to sit down next to her.

"You aren't afraid?"

"I never was afraid of you, Uncle Erik." She blushed. "I remember you when I was just a baby."

Erik sat down and nodded. "You were a fearless child. I remember you crawling about in your room, trying to stretch out your arms and legs. I told your mother that you were destined for the stage or the circus. You loved to dance even then."

"A dancer before I could walk. Mama would tell me that often." She stopped and wondered if she should ask what she was going to ask. _Well, it's now or never. _"Why did you stop coming to see me? One minute you were here and then you disappeared. Then you returned but it was Christine who you occupied your time with. Why? Did I do something wrong?"

The visible side of Erik's face looked crushed. "Is that what you thought?"

She remained quiet as Erik sighed.

"Meg, I adored your mother. She was like a sister to me but when she began dating your father I felt… Discarded. I understood, don't get me wrong but I decided it was best for me to make a life for myself somewhere else. I traveled and soon found myself in love with Italy. I probably would have stayed there is it had not been for….." He stopped himself_. No one should be forced to listen to the horrors of my past._

"But I remember you. You must have returned."

He nodded. "I did. Events made it unsafe for me to stay, so I returned to find that your mother had married and had a baby. I was so happy to see her again and when she told me she had missed me, I thought that maybe, I could have a real home here."

"Then why did you stop coming?"

Erik looked uncomfortable. "I don't think….."

"Looking back, it couldn't have been because of Christine. She came to the Opera House when she was seven and I was six. You disappeared long before then."

"Christine was not the reason why I stayed away, Meg. It was….. Your father."

"My father? I don't understand. Why would he prevent you from coming? Was he worried that Mama was in love you?"

Erik did a double look. "In love with me? Certainly not!" He stood up and began to pace. "You see….. You were a dear baby and for whatever reason we bonded. Your mother seemed to approve but your father felt left out. He finally told me that I had no business intruding on a family that wasn't mine. It was wrong to confuse a child of who her real father was. One day, you called for your Papa, only when he went to hold you, you were reaching for me. When I saw that, I knew he was right. I was causing a riff between all of you, so I decided to leave."

"But I never even so much as glimpsed at you again until after Christine came to live here." Are you saying you kept yourself hidden from us?"

Erik shook his head. "I went away again, only this time I accepted a commission from the Shah of Persia."

"A Shah? They really exist?"

"Unfortunately." Erik forced himself to not go back to those horrible memories. "I returned when your mother told me your father had died. I wanted to see both of you as I once did but I remembered what your father said and knew that I had to keep my distant out of respect for his memory. I made sure you were both well cared for and…."

"I know. Mother always spoke highly of you and told me to be grateful for friends, even if we cannot see them."

Erik was moved by Antoinette's words. "She said that?"

Meg nodded. "And then I heard you with Christine. I just figured she was luckier."

Erik looked sad. "I don't think she feels that way now."

"I don't think Christine knows what she feels anymore…" She stood up and covered her mouth. "I….."

"No need to worry, Megan. I know I ruined my relationship with her just as I ruined mine with you."

"Megan? No one ever calls me that."

Erik stood up. "They should. It is the name of a proper, young woman. A name to show that one is no longer a child."

Her smile beamed at him. "Uncle Erik, are you really leaving?" She didn't even bother to ask if she could call him that.

"Yes, Megan."

"You always leave but you end up right back here. Maybe one day you will return again?"

Erik shook his head. "Everyone is better off if I stay away. It isn't safe and the last thing you need is for someone to accuse you of being acquainted with the Opera Ghost."

"Why is that? He was always our obedient servant." She smiled.

"Erik returned the smile. "Thank you." He turned to leave.

"Wait! What about Mama? You can't leave like that. Let me go and get her."

"Megan, don't. I can't wait. I need to gather up a few things and then take the train out of the city. I am expected….. Somewhere."

"You can't even say where you will be going? That isn't fair. I don't want to lose my Uncle Erik again. Please, can't Mama and I visit?"

"Maybe one day. Until then, it is best I remain reclusive."

"But how will you live? Don't shrug off my question. There are a lot of people who care about you and want to see you happy and safe, despite what you may believe." _Christine you need to see him before it is too late._

"I will be okay. Nadir has secured a position for me. I will be teaching at a small conservatory. They don't seem too mindful of the mask."

"A conservatory? Where?"

"All I am saying is that it is far enough away from Paris where they never heard of the Phantom of the Opera. You should forget too."

Meg stood her ground. "I told you, it is my uncle that I do not wish to forget."

"Then let me go away and prove myself again. Let me become that uncle again."

"What about becoming the Angel of Music again? I know she needs you. She may not realize it yet but she does."

"Letting her go was the hardest and the best thing I have ever done in my miserable life. It was the only way I can one day hope she will forgive me." Watch over her, Megan." He looked in the direction of the kitchen and thought of Annie. "Watch over both of them."

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Meg was walking the hallways of the Opera House still trying to make sense of all that transpired in a mere 48 hours. She would have done anything to get Erik to stay but when she tried to stop him, the look in his eyes made her abandon the notion. She wondered if Erik's leaving wasn't just for their sakes as he said but for Erik's most of all.

_He has a right to begin again. But I just feel he is leaving too soon. There is so much that hasn't been said. Maybe I can stall him from going until Christine can get away?_

_Sob…._"It's over. It's over and I'll never get to tell him all that he meant to me." _Sob._

"Who is that?" Meg passed Christine's former dressing room and saw the door was half-opened. She moved the door with her hand and entered slowly. "Hello?" She ran to her friend's side when she saw Christine's face look up.

"Christine? What are you doing here?"

"Meg. It's over. He's gone. He's gone and I'm too late. Now he thinks I betrayed him again."

"What happened?"

Christine clung to the red rose for dear life. "I must have just missed him. Monsieur Khan said he was gone but the rose….. His rose…. Look at it! It's still new and fresh. He must have left it here for no more than a day. How could I be too late?"

"Erik left a rose?" She saw the long stem with the black ribbon. "Of course. It's his calling card."

"Meg, I don't know what to do. I can't go back to the de Chagny estate. Raoul wants me to stay here and learn a song for the wedding. How can I even think of music without seeing his face? How can I move on, knowing he's out there thinking the worst of me?"

Meg couldn't believe that Nadir lied to Christine. "Christine, Erik is…." _Learn a song? Can't return? _"Wait a minute. Where are you to learn this song?"

"He… He wants me to go to some conservatory outside of Paris! As if I would ever allow anyone but my angel to teach me."

_Heaven above, could this be their second chance after all? How many conservatories are there outside of Paris? _"Christine, you must go!"

"Go? Meg, can't I stay with you and Madame until the wedding? I will not be in the way."

"Christine, you must go to the conservatory."

"How can you say that?" She felt as if Meg had stabbed a knife in her back. "You know how I feel about Erik and my voice."

_That's not all I know. If only you could see it as I do._ "Of course I do but you can't concentrate here. You need time to be away and think about what it is you really want." _Or who it is you really want….._ "And while you may not want to study with anyone else, I bet the school will have plenty of music for you to review on your own and study in private."

Christine stopped and wiped her eyes. "You think they would allow me to study on my own?"

"As long as you pay, I am sure they won't mind. Besides, you won't be alone." She hid her grin.

"What do you mean?"

"Trust me, okay? You need to do this, Christine."

"But what do you mean I won't be alone? Are you…. Oh Meg, are you coming with me?"

"Ah….Ok….." _ I can arrange the carriage and see you off…._

"Really, Meg? You would go with me?"

"I promised that you wouldn't be alone, right?"

Christine smiled. "You did."

"And I intend to keep that promise!"


	6. Chapter 6

**I am introducing a few new characters in this chapter and perhaps the promise of a few other romances. You guys know I need more than just one. LOL**

**One couple in particular will play a huge role in helping Christine see how a two people in love should feel. It isn't such an unnatural thing after all. Just saying…..**

"I am not sure of anything anymore, Antoinette. If you had been there and seen her face when I told her Erik had gone….It was almost as if I had stabbed her in the heart."

"Nadir, Christine was always a good girl. She came back because she felt she owed Erik something by means of that invitation. Yes, he may have asked for it but I am sure it would have only devastated him to see it. The way he spoke of her to me just now, proves that the invitation was only meant to torment himself." _Damn that man's self-loathing._

Nadir looked at her with keen interest. "That's what I told myself. I knew that if Erik saw the invitation it would only lead to more heartache. Then I told myself that if he saw her return, he would mistake her sense of obligation for love."

"I agree with you. Stop overthinking things."

"Yet the way she looked at me when I told her to go and forget this place was the exact same way she looked when Erik told her to go and leave him that night. She looked so lost, so helpless."

Antoinette did not allow herself to entertain such a notion. "Don't, Nadir. Now is not the time to second guess ourselves. I was so guilt ridden for showing the Vicomte to the lair that night. I even told Erik that perhaps if he and Christine got to really talk that….." She sighed. "But even Erik told me to dismiss it. In his heart he knew that despite what she felt, it was not love. You cannot make a heart love someone and Erik has been through much too much to gamble on false hope."

"Is he still here?"

Antoinette looked over her shoulder. "He was with Meg when I left him." She smiled. "I had hoped they would have regained their friendship when she was older. I always regretted what Jules told him."

Nadir stood beside her. "Erik told me about that. Don't fret. After all, Meg wasn't his daughter."

"No, but he was my friend. I should have told Jules that there was more than enough love to go around. Instead, I let Erik leave. When he returned, I knew he would never be the same again."

Nadir tried to touch her shoulder but she moved away too quickly. He hid his disappointment. "Persia can do that to a man. The horrors he went through. The pain and suffering, not just by the Shah but by what he had to face out there. It is a miracle he still found it in his heart to take an interest in a ward."

She turned to face him. "She saved him and he saved her. Oh, why is love so complicated? Why does it have to be tied up with romance and lust and sex? Erik could have been happy with just companionship."

_Is she speaking only of Erik? _"That's not a life, Annie. That would not have been fair to either one of them. Everyone deserves a chance at love." _Sometimes a second chance. _"At least he was able to finally feel something real."

"The moment I saw the young noble make his way to Christine's dressing room, I knew disaster would occur. I knew Erik would be forced to reveal himself as a man and the years of lies would come back to haunt him."

"How I wish my return would have been of a more pleasant nature." He thought back to the letter. Her letter that asked him to please come to France and help see if together they could help make their friend right. "I know you wrote ti because of Erik but I had hoped that you… That is to say…"

She looked stunned. "Nadir, I made no false pretenses in my letter. I am not Christine Daae. I told you why you should come to France. Erik was the only reason."

"I know. But long ago when we first met, there was something there. There was a softness in your eyes, a difference in your laughter. I knew you hadn't looked or sounded that way in a long time."

"I had just lost my husband! I wasn't used to feeling like….."

"A woman? How many years had you been made to feel less than what you were? Than what you are? It was long before you became a widow. He was not the man for you."

She slapped him. "How dare you! He was my husband. You knew nothing of my life with him."

Nadir touched his now red cheek. "I brought Erik back from Persia when you asked him to return. I thought I was repaying a debt to a man who was the best friend I could ever have hoped to have had during the darkest period of my life. When there you were. I didn't think Allah would grant me any more miracles."

"Stop. You were grieving and so was I. It was wrong. I had to think of my daughter and France was no place for you. You said you would never reside here."

"A mistake I always regretted." He came towards her. "Annie….."

"No! It was wrong then and it is too late now. I told you that Erik needed you. I never said anything about me."

"Why did you shut me out all those years ago? You blamed it on timing and my religion but we could have been happy. We could have found a way."

"Nadir, please! Whatever we had is over now. The past is in the past. You need to get Erik to the conservatory."

"And then?"

"And then we will live just as we have always done."

Frustrated, Nadir went in the dining room and panicked when he didn't see Meg or Erik there. "Erik?"

Hearing Nadir call Erik's name caused Antoinette to follow. "What is wrong?"

He glanced at the clock. "I better make sure he is back down below getting his belongings. He can't miss that train."

"Nadir!"

He turned around, looking hopeful. "Yes?"

"May God and Allah protect you both."

He somberly nodded.

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In the small but very pretty country side of Beaune, two children were feeling their way around inside the kitchen, looking for a snack before dinner and hoping to obtain a bit of gossip. They opened the door to the pantry and ducked down.

"Tobias, stop moving about and sit still. Bets is sure to hear you with all that noise you are making. Goodness, it is as if you have never sneaked in here before."

"I am trying to get comfortable. Aaron said it would be a while before his return. You're the one who had to make sure we snuck in here now, as opposed to later."

"Bets is due back in any minute. What if she perched herself by the fireplace and stayed there until Professor Dexter arrived?" She then heard him munching on something.

"Are you eating already?"

"No." He spoke with his mouth full.

"I am blind, not deaf, you halfwit!" She slugged him at his side.

"Viviane, come on! I had a small lunch. Who helped you try and find all that sheet music in braille?"

She huffed. "Yeah, the whopping two pieces of music. What if he can't teach us with regular sheet music? All we will be able to learn are some useless nursery rhymes."

"He doesn't need that stuff. He can use real sheet music and we will have access to all kinds of songs. They told us he can even compose. He's a true teacher. I am sure he will be able to teach us great scores. Besides, we are good. He is bound to discover that for himself."

"I guess I wanted him to think we were advanced, despite our handicap."

He reached for her hand. "All he needs to do is hear you."

Viviane could feel herself blush. She then yanked her hand out of his reach. "Stop buttering me up."

"Don't say butter. I'm hungry."

"Shhh... Here. Eat this but don't chew like a cow. Be quiet."

He moved his hand up her arm until he felt her offering. "Biscotti!"

"Tobias! I said be quiet!"

He took the cookie and broke it in two. "We share." He handed her the other half.

"Thank you. Now shut your lips."

"But how long are we to….."

She heard footsteps and socked Tobias in the side again, causing him to lean back and hit his head on the back of the doorframe. She grabbed him and pulled him close to her, whispering not to make a sound.

"Aaron, I just don't know if this is a good idea."

"Of course it is a good idea, Bets. It's not like we can't deliver. We have a real professional with us now."

"But Monsieur Khan said he wanted his privacy."

"Privacy at a conservatory for children?" He laughed. "Guess he chose poorly."

Bets shook her head. "No, silly. He agreed to teach children but a private student?"

Viviane's ears perked up. _A private student? Who?_

"Well, she isn't a student per say. Look, it's just one little song. I thought you'd be happy with the business. News is obviously spreading that we have ourselves a real, genuine music professor. This extra money will come in handy. The children need….."

"Aaron, that money isn't ours. It will belong to Professor Dexter. After all, he is teaching the young lady."

"Who is coming because we employed him. Bets, it isn't every day we get a letter from the Vicomte telling us he wants his fiancée to sing him a love song at their wedding. It's a few days' work. Easy money. "

"What if she's horrible? We aren't in a position to judge skills or talent."

"So the man will earn his money."

"Ah, so you agree it is his money?"

Aaron sighed as he looked at his teasing wife. "I could really never refuse you. You know that, right?"

She smiled. "I know! Now let's put the matter to rest and kiss me you fine, looking man."

Aaron grinned. "Isn't it wonderful that after all these years together, we still can light each other's fire."

"Why did you think I married you?"

"Better come over here and remind me."

The children made faces inside the pantry. Tobias stuck his tongue out. "EWE."

"Sh.." Viviane warned him as she suppressed her giggle.

After Bets and Aaron came up for air. She took the letter from his pocket. "I suppose it would be nice to get more of these invitations."

"Does that mean we can keep the money?"

"Well, maybe we keep a percentage. Professor Dexter may be handy but he'll need resources to help us expand. I suppose a finder's fee is in order."

"Now you're talking, my shred business partner." He then placed his arms around her. "You know the man's train doesn't get in until night fall." He began massaging her shoulders.

"Aaron, I need to get dinner started."

"I'll be quick."

She turned and pulled him closer. "I don't want us to be quick. Now help me with dinner and once our new employee is settled…."

"Yes?" He eyed her hopefully.

"We can devote ourselves to other matters." She winked. "Got that, partner?"

"Got it." He grinned and kissed her on the cheek.

"Can you bring in the wood? I need to check on the eggs."

"Okay, Bets."

The minute they heard their footsteps leave, Viviane opened the pantry door. "Can you believe that?"

"I know. I can't believe they kiss all the time."

Viviane shook her head. "Not that! Why is our new professor getting distracted by some student who isn't even a part of this school?"

"She is if she paid."

"He teaches children, not soon to be wives."

Tobias got out of the pantry. "Maybe she's good and we can learn from them both?"

"Maybe." She pouted.

He felt for her hand. "I can tell this bothers you. I am sure Professor Dexter will be able to teach us and this lady."

"You better be right because if she distracts him, she will need to deal with me."

"Viviane! Tobias! Are you two in the kitchen eating biscotti again? Get out here!" Bets called after them.

Tobias laughed as Viviane groaned. "Coming, Bets."

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Meg looked out at the train station to see if she could spot Christine. She was doing all she could to try and come up with a plan to not have to go with her to the conservatory. Of course, she could have escaped for a few days but the last thing Erik and Christine needed was a chaperone. They had far too many intruders for their own good. It was time for both of them to be alone and finally be where she suspected their hearts had always been.

"Think Meg! How can I send Christine alone without her backing out and ruining everything?"

"Talking to yourself again, Mademoiselle Giry?" Darius adjusted his hat and shook his head. "Really, I am sure there is at least one other person who you could engage in conversation with."

"Monsieur, Good day!" She looked over her shoulder quickly and then back to Darius. "It isn't what it looks like. I promise you that I am not crazy."

He grinned. "Pity. I rather like crazy. Are you waiting for someone then?"

"Sort of…." _Can I trust him? I mean he didn't say a word to the Comte or his sons the other night. Maybe he could….._ Meg became so excited she didn't think about how it looked, she just took Darius' arm and dragged him inside the small café overlooking the station platform. "I need your help."

"So it appears you were listening when I told you about the kindness of strangers, eh?"

"Please, Monsieur. I need to get out of something but unless I have an excellent reason for doing so, I am afraid my friend will make another horrible mistake and this time I don't think she will be able to take it back."

He took off his hat and held it firmly in his hand. "Does this involve the same young lady from the other night?"

"What if it did?"

"Then it is obviously rather important to you if you would commit trespassing and riddle your crafty mind into helping her." He paused for a moment and moved towards her when he saw the way her golden hair shimmered in the sun.

"So you will help me?"

He should have walked away. The young lady in question was marrying his friend's son and yet, something couldn't make him say no to the woman before him. "What do I need to do?"

Meanwhile, Christine arrived at the station, clinging to the rose in one hand and her bag in the other. She saw a vacant seat and decided to sit down as she waited for Meg to appear. She carefully placed the rose on her lap and her bag next to her. She then absentmindedly stroked the black ribbon.

"Excuse me, Mademoiselle?"

"Yes?" Christine looked up to see an older woman who was selling flowers for men's lapels and lady's bonnets.

"I am sorry but I couldn't help seeing you admire that rose. You know if you are interested, I could create a miniature one for you so you could have it always. I would just take a few of the pedals and attatch a fake stem, then press it down flat."

"Oh, no." She looked down at Erik's rose. "I couldn't. You see the rose and the ribbon are special to me."

"I can capture the ribbon too. It wouldn't be more than the price of one of my bonnets."

She hesitated.

"It will die without it. This way, you can keep its memory with you."

Christine thought about the rose…. Erik's rose fading until it died. She suddenly knew that could not be an option. "Will it take long?"

"I'll have it ready for you before your train." She took the rose and saw how reluctant Christine was to let it go. "I'll bring it back, I promise."

Just then Meg called out to Christine. "Christine!"

"Over here, Meg!" She stood and hugged her friend when she came up to her. "I am so glad to see you. I am not sure I could do this without you."

"Nonsense, Christine. You need this time away. Beaune is beautiful this time of year." She then waited for Christine to look away, when she motioned for Darius to come over. She then pretend to become engrossed in the train tracks.

"Oh Mlle Giry, thank goodness, I caught you in time."

"Hmm?" Meg looked up and faked being surprised. "Oh Monsieur Reimes. How strange to find you here. Do you know my friend, Christine Daae?"

Christine smiled and Darius tipped his hat but then focused his attention right back on Meg. "Please, won't you reconsider?"

"I am sorry. I can't. I promised to leave town for a few days." She then pretended to grab her bag and start walking to the train. "We better see if they will allow us inside, Christine."

"Wait!" Darius got in front of them. "You are the only one that can dance that part. I know my theatre will be very disappointed."

"Dance?" Christine's eyebrow arched up. "Meg, what is he talking about?"

"It's nothing. Come on."

"Nothing, she says." Darius threw his hands in the air. "The prima ballerina has finally been given a chance to shine and she turned down the part."

"What?" Christine pulled Meg back. "What is he talking about, Meg? What part are you giving up?"

"It's nothing. Look, the Opera House is doing Faust and since Mama is busy with the renovations, the managers decide to move it to a smaller venue and commission an out of town choreographer and director to stage the production. We had rehearsals and I got the lead dance part."

"Meg, that's wonderful! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I only found out after I promised you I would go with you to the conservatory." She made a very dramatic pause before continuing. "Now, let's go! Good day, Monsieur."

Christine stopped her again. "Meg, you can't leave. Not now. This is a wonderful opportunity, if it goes well, which I am sure it will, the managers will remember you and perhaps cast you in another production when they are ready to open the Opera House again."

"I…. Hadn't thought of that." _But I was so counting you would remind me, dear friend._

"You must stay!" _I can't have her give this up because of me. I already hate myself for hurting my angel, I can't do it to my best friend too._

Darius admired Meg's intuition. _The lady is good, I'll give her that._

"But Christine if I stay, I can't go with you. You need to go to the school. Time away from Raoul and… everything is just what you need."

"Oh Mademoiselle?"

Both Meg and Christine turned around. When Christine saw the flower lady, she smiled. "Yes?"

"Your pressed rose. I would have been here sooner but I had another request and he was insistent that I do his order right away."

Christine's eyes went to the finished product and brought it to her nose. "It still has the faint smell."

"Oui, Mademoiselle. You like?"

"It's forever." _Like my angel_. She couldn't see or think about anything else but the rose.

"Christine, are you sure about this? You aren't afraid of being alone?"

She gently caressed the flower. "I will not be alone."

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Meg waved goodbye to Christine and Darius escorted her off the platform.

"I must say, you played that perfectly."

"Me? What about you. I swear Monsieur Reimes, I almost thought you did some acting before." She giggled.

"What can I say, you bring out that side in me. Can I interest you in an afternoon tea?"

"I really should be getting back." She was about to leave when she heard Carlotta DeGuide's voice bellow from the platform.

"I am not crazy! I know what I saw. That devil is still alive and he was on that train. He will not stop until he has killed me."

"Signora, no! He is dead. And even if the Opera Ghost wasn't dead, would he really be so stupid to board a train in daylight?"

"Exactly! It is so obvious, no one would suspect him. "Andiamo! I will travel another way!" She left leaving nothing but the sounds of her voice echoing behind her.

Darius shook his head. "What was that all about?"

Meg faked indifference. "Some people just can't stop living in the past, I'm afraid." She then thought about what Carlotta said. Could Erik be on the next train parting for Beaune? _Why couldn't he and Christine have been on the same train? _ She then decided to get out before Carlotta spotted her. The last thing she needed was for Carlotta to suspect Christine had been there as well.

"On second thought, I would love a cup of tea. Lead on, Monsieur."

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Erik closed the door of his small, yet private compartment. He practically had to force Nadir to leave him in peace. He wasn't interested in a long, dragged out goodbye. He knew where Erik was going. When the time was right, Nadir would know to make contact.

He then looked at the small, red, newly pressed rose that the flower lady had made for him. At first, he wasn't interested in talking to anyone. The less people who remembered a tall, man dressed in black, with a rather large fedora covering his right side profile, the better. Yet the way he had been lovingly looking at his rose caught the flower lady's eye and she needed to capitalize on as many customers as she could.

"Monsieur, you seem to have a very pretty rose. You know all roses must die but I could preserve her for you. I am doing the very same thing for another customer. Do you want me to do it to yours as well?"

"No, that won't be necessary. The ribbon makes it….."

"Unique?" The lady nodded. _Not really but a sale is a sale. _ "I am sure I can preserve it. What do you say? 8 francs?"

"No." He turned slowly.

"But your rose will die. This way, it will always be with you."

Erik turned back to face her. "Always?"

"I can have it ready before you board. I am becoming an expert." She said proudly.

The next thing Erik knew he was gently caressing the tiny rose with just a hint of fragrance. It reminded him of her.

_In some small way, you will always be with me, angel._

The train started to move and with it, Erik's fate was set.

Several hours later, Erik arrived to the conservatory. His train was actually quite early and therefore there was no way of contacting Aaron to come and get him, so he hired a carriage and enjoyed the peaceful countryside. He considered the train being early a sign that this new position was a positive step to rebuilding that new life that both Annie and Nadir talked about.

When he knocked on the door, he was nervous. He pulled his fedora all the way down over his right side and did his best not to shake. He kept reminding himself that these people hired him and did not know of his past. He then wondered if that was a good thing or another lie he would have to live with.

"God, why must even a new beginning be tied back to my past?"

The door rustled open and Erik stepped back. He forced himself to stay and not run in the other direction.

"May I help you Monsieur?" Bets wiped her hands on her apron and smiled.

Erik nodded and then spoke softly. "I am Erik Dexter. Your new music professor."

Bets smile turned even wider. "Monsieur, I mean Professor, we weren't expecting you until later. Aaron was going to come and get you at the station. I… We…. Oh, will you listen to me. If I am going to force you to listen to my babbling, at least come and get warm." She allowed him to enter and Erik obliged.

"Do you have bags, Professor?"

Erik nodded. "I placed them over there. I will…."

"No, I'll have Aaron get them. "Aaron get over here! Professor Dexter has arrived!"

Erik was started by the way she yelled for her husband to come over. "That won't be necessary. I can manage."

Aaron walked in. "See Bets, he can manage."

Bets yanked her husband and pushed him outside. "Go and help him."

Erik had already retrieved his bags and returned to the door before Aaron could assist.

"Welcome to the school, Professor Dexter. I know the children are anxious to meet you."

Erik held on to his bags tightly. _ How anxious would they be if they knew what was teaching them?_

"I'm Aaron Wilen. You have already met my lovely bride, Elizabeth."

"Please, just call me Bets."

Erik nodded again and both Aaron and Bets looked at each other strangely.

"Are you hungry, Professor? I could make you something to eat?"

"No, thank you."

"Uh… How about I show you to your quarters? You will have your own private entrance and bedroom along with a bath and a small work station but it is very close to the music room so you can consider that your space as well."

"Thank you, Monsieur."

"Now wait a minute, Professor, I insist you call me Aaron. I mean you don't know what a thrill it is to have a war hero with us. "

Erik looked away and Bets came around and touched his arm. "Professor, I know that your injury upsets you. I can't begin to even imagine what you went through but I can honestly tell you that all we care about is your ability to teach and your keen ability to help us renovate. The school is old and we are in desperate need of someone who can help us and maybe even offer up some ways to do it more cost efficiently as well."

Aaron agreed. "Yes, I am not very shrewd when it comes to those things, I'll admit it. I'd be able to offer you up my labor though but I will need your keen mind."

"I…."

"Professor, my wife and I are honored to have you here. Not too many men would accept a commission such as this. The children may be blind but they can see. They will see you for your skills and talent just as we do. So don't feel as if you need to hide your mask. This is not just a place of employment. It is your home, if you wish it to be."

Erik lifted his head and for a moment forgot to pull down on his fedora. _ If you only knew…._ "I think I should like to retire."

Bets spoke as she moved out of the way. "Of course. Aaron will show you to your room. Are you sure you don't want something to eat?"

"Please do not go to any trouble for me."

"But it is no trouble at all. In fact, you can use this kitchen whenever you like also."

"I really should get some rest and start early tomorrow, getting better acquainted with everything."

Bets smiled again. _Poor man. It is obvious he has been through a lot. _ "Aaron?"

Her husband was quick to oblige. "I'll take you to your room, Professor and if you need anything, just ask."

Erik turned to follow Aaron when he looked back and caught Bets' attention. "Good evening, Madame."

Bets smiled at his formality. "Good evening, Professor. I am glad you are here. And remember, call me Bets."

Once Erik was alone he took off his hat and cloak and carefully sat down on the bed. He looked around and thought the place was actually very accommodating. He hadn't looked at the music room yet or their catalog of music but would wake early enough in the morning to do a full inspection.

He sighed when he thought about how different his life was. Three weeks ago, he was being hunted down and cast aside by all the people he loved. Tonight, he was welcomed with open arms and able to sleep soundly in a warm room with the hope of letting music heal him once more. Only this time, he would not allow himself to dream for more than the little he deserved.

All of a sudden, he heard a carriage make an abrupt stop. He stood up and went to the window and peeked through the curtains. It was too dark to see anything really, except it appeared that the Wilens had another visitor coming. He was a bit curious but then dismissed the thought.

"No matter, it has nothing to do with me."

_A/N: I doubt that Erik. Until next week. _


	7. Chapter 7

Meg was sipping her tea trying to rewind the afternoon's events in her mind. One minute, she was scrambling trying to figure out how she was going to get out of accompanying Christine to the conservatory and the next thing she knew she was playing up her charade with Monsieur Reimes. The corners of her mouth formed a grin when she thought about how well they played off of one another.

"Did I say something amusing?"

"Oh no, Monsieur. I mean….."

Darius laughed. "Don't you think we can dispense with the whole Monsieur nonsense? We do share a secret now, don't we?"

"I suppose we do." She smiled and then looked at her soon to be empty tea cup. "Darius?"

"Yes?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, I just wished to say it out. It's a nice name."

"It sounds even nicer hearing you say it." He looked at her empty cup and began pouring her more tea. "So what's next?"

Meg sat back. "I hope that's the end of it. Christine and Uncle Erik need to figure things out on their own. I can only do so much." She then cupped her mouth with her hand. _Me and my big mouth. Sure he's been a dear up until now but he is the Comte's friend and if he suspects that I am trying to get Christine to rethink her engagement…_

"Meg, no matter what you think, you can trust me. Haven't I already proven myself since we've met?"

"It isn't about trust. I just don't know what could happen and I don't want to hurt Christine's happiness, no matter what it may end up being."

He looked at her intensely for a moment. "You don't like Raoul, do you?"

She sipped her tea quickly. "That is not the point. It matters not if I like him. What matters is what's best for Christine."

"I asked your opinion." He leaned back and tried to gage her reaction.

That seemed to be all she needed to let her true feelings out. "I think it's deplorable that Christine can't perform anymore once she marries. I also feel that he should encourage what little family she has to attend the wedding. Why is he dictating her life?"

He nodded. "I believe my friends are a bit old fashion and tied to the demands of nobility. Clearly, if they knew you…."

"He slammed the door in my face! That's why I had to go around the back way the night we met."

"That was very boorish and not very noble like. I guess you do have grounds to dislike him. But you mentioned an uncle? Isn't he too old for your friend?"

"What does age matter? Besides, I know nothing."

He laughed. "Of course. Yet you don't think she would mind such an age gap?"

"It isn't that big of a gap. He's 35 or so. A proper age. A man should always be older."

"But isn't she 18? I mean what woman would….."

"Darius, really! It's the man, not the age. If the couple had things in common and are attracted to the other then what else do you need?"

He was fascinated to hear her speak with such maturity and conviction. She was well beyond her years and so vastly different from anyone he had ever met before. He had to remind himself that she was speaking of her friend and not for herself.

"Well, I hope they work it out." He suddenly became very thirsty.

"Say, you have yet to tell me how you keep popping up whenever I need help. What did I do to deserve such a talented ally?"

"Kindness of strangers, remember?"

"You're not a stranger anymore." She found she liked that fact more and more.

"Indeed. " He stared into her eyes a little longer than he realized until he coughed and spoke again. "In that case I will disclose fully, my dear. I am here to pick up someone."

"A visitor? Who?" She then blushed at her curiosity. Why should she be so interested? He owed her no explanation.

"My friend's niece is coming into town."

"What's the occasion?"

He couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh. "Her cousin's wedding."

Meg gulped. "Her cousin's….."

Darius nodded slowly. "Melanie is here for Raoul's wedding."

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The morning came very slowly for Christine. She found she couldn't really sleep and despite the kindness that the older couple showed her, she still felt very conflicted being at the conservatory. She felt that just by being there, she was betraying Erik. She decided to pass the hours by writing in her journal.

Christine's focus was on her thoughts as she poured out her feelings onto the pages. She spoke of her conflicting emotions with regards to Raoul and their argument. She described in detail, how guilt-ridden and upset she felt when she realized that Erik was gone. She also wrote down all the questions she hoped she would find answers to during her stay.

_Will I find the closure I need by singing for the last time? Will the song I pick truly help make things right between Raoul and me? Will I ever feel as complete singing again without my angel's guidance and support? Am I really doing the right thing by marrying Raoul? Why do I question my heart so? I haven't even thought about him once until now yet I haven't been able to get Erik out of my mind. Perhaps it just has to do with my determination to not betray him by spending time with another teacher?_

_Another teacher? As if there could ever be someone else? He was so much more than a teacher. He was my best friend and my spirit and in many ways the other half of my…_

A knock disturbed her thoughts.

"Yes?"

The door opened and Bets walked in with a tray. "Good Morning, Mlle Daae. I hope I wasn't disturbing you."

Christine smiled. "Not at all, Madame. How may I help you?"

"Please, call me Bets. It isn't every day we have a future Vicomtess stay with us. I hope we don't violate any protocol."

Christine shook her head. "I wouldn't know it if you did. Why don't you call me, Christine?"

Bets placed the tray down. "If you agree to call me, Bets."

"Deal."

"Good." She smiled. "A writer, eh?"

Christine put down her feather pen and closed the journal. "Not really, it just helps me sort things out sometimes.

Bets nodded. "I hope you're hungry. Aaron is going to speak to Professor Dexter and…."

"No, Bets!" She stood up instantly. "I thought I made myself clear last night that despite what the Vicomte said, I would not be studying with anyone. I am very disciplined from my previous teacher and do not wish to pick up bad habits. Frankly, there is no one better."

"Then why would the Vicomte not have you study with him as opposed to sending you to us?

"They did not see eye to eye." She sat down and pretended to be pre-occupied in anything else but that topic of discussion.

"I'm sorry, Christine." Bets realized that she must have hit a sensitive area. "Tell me, did you perform before? I mean it sounds as if your teacher was truly special."

Christine did not want to call attention to her past. "I had aspirations at one time but obviously my engagement changed things." She looked away.

"Well, I think you will appreciate our collection of music. While Aaron and I don't frequent too many live performances, we do enjoy music. Hence why we are still here. Perhaps Professor Dexter will let you review some of his personal collections as well?"

"Do you think he would mind?"

"I don't see why not. I am sure he would want to help in any way. Perhaps he can help select a piece that is right for your voice so….."

"No, Bets. I meant what I said. I would appreciate being able to see some of his collections but I will not require nor accept his tutelage. I will never take another Maestro. For my angel was truly the best and I would never betray him by working with someone else." _Angel? Oh, I shouldn't have referred to him like that….._

_Angel?_ Bets nodded but inside she wondered what more Christine didn't tell her about her Maestro. If she clearly had such devotion to him, why would her beloved not allow her this desire? That is unless they were rivals for her heart? _She did say they didn't see eye to eye. I suppose marrying a poor teacher couldn't compare to a Vicomte. _She thought about it some more but then contradicted herself. _She doesn't seem stuck on titles or airs, though._

"Duly noted. I will leave you to your breakfast then. It's Professor Dexter's first morning with us, so I will let him know you arrived and perhaps you can look over his pieces this afternoon? I would think he should spend a little time getting to know the area and the children, as they will be his priority."

"Of course. Thank you, Bets."

"See you later, Christine." Bets closed the door behind her and shook her head. She knew this was going to bother her until she figured this mystery out. "Oh No! I better stop Aaron from talking to the Professor about his new student."

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Erik couldn't leave his room fast enough. He was eager to explore his new surroundings. He opened up his bag and pulled out a thick, brown, leather binder. He clung to it like a shield and made his way into the music room. His eyes scanned the room cautiously and found himself picking up a music stand and bringing it with him to the piano.

He looked over at the keys as if they were made of gold. He hadn't been able to play a single note since the night she left. A part of him wanted to pour out all his longings into the notes, while another part of him wanted to stay clear of all reminders of her. He pushed those thoughts away, as he opened the binder and took out the sheet music he couldn't bear to part with. He knew that some of the music might be too advanced for the students in the beginning but it would be a great goal for them to strive for. He also couldn't bring himself to leave it behind.

He touched each piece and despite his uneasiness, he smiled. He found that even just holding the music made him feel calm. He skimmed a few pages and realized that some of the music hadn't been looked at since his days in Italy.

"There were happy times there too. This music proves it." He carefully turned the pages over and came across old standards that he had loved as a boy. He was eager to highlight these pieces to the students. He then came across his own original compositions from his days as a child up to and including his one and only opera, _Don Juan Triumphant_.

"God, what was I thinking? This music was…" He turned the pages over and placed them back in order inside the binder. "It's over. No need to ever bring that piece back from the dead."

He left the binder on the piano and decided to explore the land. Both Nadir and Aaron had spoken of expansion and needing his masonry skills. Perhaps he could take a look and get his mind thinking again. It had been years since he actually built anything from the ground up. He was welcoming the challenge more and more.

No sooner did he set foot on the grass, did Aaron call to him.

"Oh, Professor? Good day to you."

Erik nodded in reply.

"I trust you slept well?"

"Yes, thank you." He then turned his face to the direction of the open space.

"Would you like a tour? It was too dark to see a thing last night."

"Actually, I was hoping to explore it on my own. I would like to get a feel of the surroundings and see where an ideal place to expand might be."

Aaron rubbed his neck when Erik politely refused his invitation. "Uh, you see Professor, I wasn't just asking to be social. I have a business proposition for you."

Erik's unmasked eyebrow shot up. "What would that be?"

"I know we hired you to teach the children but from time to time we get requests to have private tutoring from outside the conservatory. Last night, a very sweet, young lady arrived and she is getting married soon. Her fiancé paid to have her take lessons from you and learn a love song for him. I thought you could fit it in with….."

"Never." Erik tried to mask his contempt for such a request.

"Pardon me?"

"I'm very sorry for the misunderstanding but I am not for hire. I came here to teach those who have a desire to learn and appreciate music with no ulterior motives. I don't teach someone a song. I teach them music. I help them find it in their souls, so they can hear it and feel it as it surrounds their very being. I'm here to find that essence in their souls and bring them to completion. I am not going to waste my time on a silly whim and have it plague the purity of the music or take time away from those who really want to learn."

"But Professor, this is not charity work. The man paid in advance and….."

"Then you will need to refund his money. I do not teach novelties, Monsieur. I want no part in that and if you insist, I am afraid I will have to leave today. That was not our original agreement."

"No, it wasn't Professor but I thought you might want to hear the lady. She may surprise you and….."

"No!" Erik's anger was starting to get the better of him. The last thing he wanted was to get involved with teaching a silly, love sick female. He didn't want any adult students and he certainly wouldn't subject himself to train someone who only cared about a song and not the music or passion behind it.

_All she wants is someone to teach her notes on a page. I will not torment myself to listen to other lovers for blasted notes on a page! _He then closed his eyes in pain. _I will not force myself to endure hearts filled with love, only to know it will never be mine._

"Professor, if you feel that strongly about it, I won't make you but can you at least tell the lady yourself? She came here thinking she would be tutored."

Erik wanted to brush it off but then thought against it. "Fine. I will tell the lady that I will see no private students, other than the children."

"Thank you." Aaron felt foolish. Bets was right after all. He really didn't want to return the Vicomte's money but maybe he could charge a small fee for having her use some of the conservatory's music. "I'll let you be then." He was about to walk away, when he noticed Tobias near the lake.

"What the? Tobias, get away from there!"

Erik looked over at the direction of the lake. "Who is that boy?"

"He's one of the older students. He knows his way around but I confess I get nervous. I just…." He then started to run over to Tobias and Erik followed.

"Aaron, I'm fine. I know my way around here. I give new meaning to the phrase, 'walking it blindfolded'. I…." He then sensed they were not alone. "Who's here with you?"

Aaron looked over at Erik. "Tobias, meet your new music professor, Erik Dexter."

Tobias' eyes actually widened in surprise. "Professor?" He took a few steps forward and reached out his arm.

Erik spoke so he could give the boy better direction as to where he stood. "Hello, Tobias."

Tobias followed his voice and thought it had such wonderful tones. _A tenor, I'd guess. Perfect._ "It is a pleasure, Professor."

Erik noticed Tobias was extending his hand for him to shake it. Once their hands met, Tobias brought his other hand over theirs. He sensed Erik move slightly.

Aaron interjected. "That's how blind people shake hands. They use both of their hands together like that."

Erik nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tobias. I look forward to our lessons. What is your range?"

"Professor, I can sing a bit but my true passion is to learn to play the piano. I know all the cords but the last professor didn't think it was wise to continue my education."

Erik huffed, "Why would he think that?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" He felt embarrassed.

"Tobias, truly gifted musicians do not need to look at sheet music or the cords. They memorize and then they let their ears and skill guide them through the song. Making music isn't about what you can see. It's about what you can imagine."

Tobias seemed in awe of his new teacher. "I knew it. I knew you would be different."

Aaron smiled. _Well, this may not have been a mistake after all._

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Christine walked out of her room and decided that now was as good a time as any to explore the house. Bets told her that she could make use of the music room when the Professor wasn't using it, so when she didn't hear any music coming from the hallway, she knew it was now or never.

She walked in and noticed a music stand by the piano. She couldn't help but grin, as memories of the lair came back to her. She then began searching as to where she could find the school's catalog of songs, when the leather binder caught her eye.

She didn't know if it was the Professor's or not but something in her couldn't help but open it. The minute she saw the sheet music she assumed it belonged to the Professor and was about to close it, when her eyes saw the measure. Her brain instantly sang the notes in her mind and she was powerless to stop herself.

"It's so beautiful. I haven't heard music like this since I was a child." She admired the Professor's taste when she saw old standards that she remembered hearing when Erik used to pay for her when she was a child and only knew of him as a celestial being. She then glanced over songs she knew she had never heard of before and yet they seemed so familiar.

"Who's in here?"

Christine turned in a fright and saw a little girl looking out into the open air.

"Hello? Professor Dexter, is that you?" Viviane came towards Christine.

"No, I'm Christine. And you are?"

Viviane stopped and made a frown. "Christine? Are you….. Are you the Professor's private student?"

"No, there's been a misunderstanding. You see I am here to study music but on my own discipline."

Viviane shook her head. "You mean you require no teacher? How is that possible?"

Christine did wonder how she could expect to remember everything that Erik taught her. What if she couldn't do it alone after all? "I had a great tutor once and I am determined to teach myself as my Maestro would have wanted."

"Why not go back to him?"

"I… He is no longer a teacher." _Not mine, anyway._

Viviane nodded. "Do you want to know where we keep our catalog?"

"Oh yes! Could you please show me? I'd like that very much. I am eager to start as soon as possible and…." She then realized the child was blind and stopped her request.

"What is it? Did you see a ghost or something?"

"No, I…. I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were…."

"Blind? You can say the word. It won't hurt me." She smiled on purpose to put Christine at ease. Now that she wasn't a rival for the Processor's time, there was no need to be rude. "I am blind but I have grown up in this room. I know where we keep our songs. Here, let me show you." She reached for Christine's hand.

Christine gave it to her and smiled. "Thank you… I'm sorry. I don't believe you told me your name."

"Viviane. Right this way."

She started to show her towards the catalog drawer when the door opened. Christine looked up and froze.

Viviane felt her let go of her hand. "Christine, we still have a ways to walk."

Erik stopped dead in his tracks. He thought he was imagining her standing before him and was slowing slipping into madness. When he heard her name, he still didn't believe it. However when he felt her arms wrap around his frame, he knew it was very real.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you everyone for your wonderful support of this story. **

**Our couple is in the same room but what happens now? I will stop yapping and let Chapter 8 begin but before I do, I must confess I own nothing and although it pains me, I will not digress. ;) I know, I know, I'll stick to my day job. LOL**

"You mean that you were just waiting at the train station with no sign of Darius?"

Melanie played with the ice cubes in her glass by shaking the content back and forth. "No, I told you once before Isabella, I saw him." She grinned. "He just happened to be chasing after some girl."

Isabella laughed. "I know, I just wanted you to say it again. Can you believe that old goat? What makes him think a woman in her youth would give him the time of day?"

"Come now, he's charming. She appeared to be somewhat upset. He kept calling after her."

"I'll bet she was probably annoyed to have such an embarrassment chase her around like that." She refreshed her glass. "More?"

"In a little while." Melanie placed her glass down. "No, I don't think he was badgering her. I think they were coming out of the café together. What does that say?"

"Hmpf. It just means that she was hungry and was going to take the old goat for all he had. I mean how old did you say she was?"

"I didn't. She was merely younger. Now, enough talk of Darius and some girl. What's been going on here?"

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Please, you know the scandal around here. I can't believe you agreed to be a part of the farce. Imagine our Raoul marrying a common stagehand."

"I believe she was a prima donna. That is far from a stagehand." Melanie stood up and walked over to the balcony. She then turned around. "They say she is quite beautiful."

"Melanie, not you too! Yes, Christine Daae was born with a fine face and a good figure but those things fade. Breeding and heredity, do not. Otherwise, she wouldn't have allowed herself to become the Devil's whore."

"I heard about what happened on the stage that night. But if that were true and Raoul only wanted her beauty, he didn't have to propose." She sat back down, despite her eagerness to flee from the room.

"He met her when they were children. A summer by the sea. Since then he has decided to play hero. You know how he's always liked to wear the white hat. He probably felt he needed to rescue the fallen angel from her life of sin and debauchery." Laughing, she took a sip from her glass. "Raoul always needed to feel needed. You remember, don't you? Who better to know, then you?"

Melanie faked indifference. "Well, regardless of that. Raoul asked me to stand up in the wedding and how could I refuse him? I dare say, I was hoping to meet the bride before taking up the maid of honor role."

Isabella shook her head. "That proves how utterly worthless her class is. She is in our home for three weeks and hardly says a word to us. Yet she sponges off us for food and shelter. Then when Raoul has to go away, she takes it upon herself to leave instead of spending the time getting to know her future family. Can you believe her gall?"

Melanie smirked. "Maybe she didn't think she could handle your kindness, Isabella? I think I will take that second drink now."

Isabella motioned to the pitcher. "Help yourself. You know where everything is."

As she poured her glass, she turned her head slightly. "Raoul is away?"

"Not for long, my dear. I know Phillip told him you were coming. You should have seen his face."

"I doubt that." She picked up her glass and sat back down. "He asked me to be the maid of honor, not the bride. Why would he make such a request anyway? Doesn't the poor girl have friends of her own?"

"Riff-raff like she is. We had to make this a civilized affair, Melanie."

"What kind of an affair is it when the bride and groom are not here?"

"If you're so hell-bent on meeting her, why don't you have Darius take you to the Opera House? No doubt there will be some children he can try and latch on to." Isabella was now in a state of giggles.

"You are the one acting like a child. Leave the man alone." She sighed. "Good grief, I fear there will be no adult conversation with you this evening. I am retiring upstairs."

"Oh come back, Mel…. It's still early. Phillip will be here soon and we can all…"

"Good night! I'll see you at breakfast." She kissed her friend's cheek and then went up to her room.

When she entered she noticed a candle was lit and the bed was turned down. She smiled slightly, as she left the door opened and dropped her gloves on the chase lounge.

"Is this how you wooed your prima donna, Raoul?"

He appeared from the hallway and closed the door quickly. He took her in. "You look absolutely stunning. How I have missed you."

"It shows. To think you had to get engaged to get me to come visit. Now that is going all out, wouldn't you say?"

"I don't want to talk about that. My pending nuptials have nothing to do with us... With tonight."

She looked at him strangely. "How can you say that? Are you telling me that she would condone such behavior? Would you if the situation were reversed?"

"Melanie, she is not who I thought she was and I needed some time apart so I could know for certain if this is really the right course for me."

"So you come in here thinking we can pick up where we left off? How can I compete, Raoul? I have no sweet memories of a summer by the sea." She mimicked her voice like a child.

"There is no comparison, Melanie. I may not know what I want for my life but I know what I want right now and that is you."

"How is it so easy for you to betray her?"

Raoul pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately. When their lips parted, he continued to hold her firmly as he suppressed memoires of Christine kissing a demon. "Because she already has betrayed me." He then picked her up and carried her to the bed.

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Erik wanted to faint. He had to be hallucinating. There was no possible way that Christine could be with him right now. Least of all, hugging him with such intensity.

_Did she just call me angel again? No, this isn't real. She said my soul was distorted. She recoiled away from me. How could she possibly be here now, seeking me out? _

His mind told him to pull away. His instincts told him to run but his heart and his body screamed at him to embrace her and bring her body even closer to his. Although he could feel his heart overflowing with desire, it wasn't his manly urges that made him forgo the voice that was echoing in the back of his head. He simply needed to feel her again. He needed her to hold on to him and tell him that everything was going to be alright.

When Erik returned the embrace, Christine felt a rush of joy wash over her. She couldn't help but smile as she tightened her hold of him and began caressing the back of his head, allowing her fingers to smooth out his hair.

_He's really here and he's with me. He's alright and is holding me like I always wished he would. That night, his arms were so timid and frail around me. All those years of wishing and wanting him to be real and then magically, he was… Only I betrayed him. I turned away from him….._

She broke her hold for an instant, just to look into his eyes and right then and there she knew it was wrong to leave. Yes, he sent her away but she should have fought back. She should have been strong enough to tell him no and force him to hear her.

Even now she couldn't speak. She was too in awe of him and too afraid to ruin another moment. Instead, she embraced him again allowing her body to press up against his, similar to the night they shared the stage. Back then, she was able to hide behind the façade of being Amita. A night so very long ago when both of them were playing a different game. She clung to him now and allowed a soft moan to escape her lips as she caressed his form.

"Christine….." His voice was hoarse and in a whisper.

"Angel….." She imagined they were alone together and free from the world around them. She imagined taking his face in her hands and kissing him as passionately as she did that night in his lair. She was about to press her lips to his again when she stopped herself and yanked herself away.

She distanced herself and cursed her sinful thoughts. _No! I can't do this. I am engaged and these feelings are sinful. A woman should not have such brazen thoughts. This is wrong. These feelings must be suppressed. What kind of a decent woman would allow herself to feel such thoughts of the flesh? I can't do this! All I wanted to do was bring us both peace. I thought my chance was over but now that he is here, I need to find a way to make him forgive me. Didn't I wish for closure in order to establish peace?_

Erik almost fell forward when she pulled away from him. His realization of his reality was never clearer. Christine feared him and loathed herself for even trying to show him an ounce of compassion or human kindness.

"So, it appears the lady remembers who and what I am after all?"

Christine slowly turned to face him and the tears swelled up in her eyes. _I can't tell him the real reason why I let him go. He'll think of me as a fallen woman. Why must I keep feeling this way around him? No one else causes such wicked desires in me…Am I to be damned for them?_

"Sorry to once again displease you, Mademoiselle. What did you think would happen? Did you think that a mere hug from an angel would cause the monster to turn into a prince or maybe even a Vicomte?" He sneered. "No, the beast remains a beast, my beauty. No one can change that."

"I…. Didn't mean to….. Erik, I didn't come to hurt you."

_How does she know my name? Curse her sweet lips but I have never heard it sound so good. There was a time, I would have given anything to have her say my real name. _He shook his head in defeat. _ What does it matter now? _

"Yet that is all you seem to do, Christine. Do you think you don't hurt me when you run way from me like that? I could say it is because of my mortal sins but no. We both know why you recoil against me and it has to do with this!" He pointed towards his mask. "Remember that long ago night when you pulled off my mask to satisfy your curiosity, only to be severely disappointed? What does that say about me or about you for that matter? Tell me why are you here? Why seek me out and put us both through such torture?"

Viviane had been standing there listening to the conversation, not knowing whether to hide or make herself known. Suddenly, she felt she could aid the situation and decided to speak up.

"She's here to learn a song for her wedding. However, she told me she had no desire to learn from you."

Christine's face went white. "No! The child has it all wrong. I didn't wish to be taught by anyone else other than my maestro. I had no idea you would be here."

"Your wedding…." It was Erik's turn to move away and face the door. "You came to have an instructor teach you a song for that Fop!"

"Erik, I told you I didn't know you would be here. I didn't want anyone else to tutor me. But now that you are here…." She wanted to take the words back. How could she ask him that? However music had always been their safe haven. Could music help them both heal and establish peace between them at last?

Erik sprung around quickly and practically pounced at her. "You dare to ask me to tutor your voice for him? I trained your voice for the stage. We worked for years so you could finally take your rightful place, not as some fool's wife. You want to throw it all away and expect me to help you?"

She was afraid but not of him. The fear inside of her was sparked by the mere effect his very presence had on her. She tried to control her trembling.

"Erik, I'm sorry. I didn't know you would be here. I expected to train myself, based on the lessons I learned from you. I lost my head just now. I know you could never…. That I could never ask that of you." She couldn't hide her frustration. "Oh, why must I do nothing but bring you woe? I truly did want peace between us but I see that I could never make things right. " She was beside herself. "I will leave in the morning. I only hope that you can forgive me one day." She left the room as fast as her feet could carry her.

Erik could hardly breathe. He sat down quickly and loosened his collar.

"I'm Viviane."

He slowly looked at the child for the first time. "Viviane?" _Had she been here the whole time? How will I explain this_? "I'm….."

"Our new music professor, I know. You must be very good. She didn't want anything to do with you before she realized who you were."

_If only that were true. _"Well, as you can see she wants nothing to do with me." He made a face when he realized what he just said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

"Say what? The part about my seeing?" She laughed. "It's a common phrase and I say it myself. Besides I may be blind but I can see. You really won't tutor her because she is getting married?"

Erik felt a strong headache coming on. "I don't wish to discuss who I teach, particularly with on of my students."

"Was she any good?"

Erik was doing his best to keep his temper in check. He was already swimming in emotions due to seeing Christine again.

"No, she wasn't good. She was unlike anything I have ever heard nor ever will hear again."

Viviane paused for a moment and then spoke. "You haven't heard me yet."

Erik smirked, despite his mood. "True."

"Teachers inspire their students, correct?"

Erik nodded but remembered he had to reply. "Yes, they do."

"Then couldn't the same be true for teachers being inspired by their students?" It was as if she could see him begin to protest. "All I'm saying is that I hoped you would be different than the others. Tobias said you would be. I feel we deserve a teacher that will do his best. It is clear from your responses that Christine inspires you to do your best. I admit I didn't want you to tutor anyone that wasn't a part of the conservatory but now… Now I changed my mind."

"She's throwing it all away. I can't teach her only to know it is in vain."

"Then get her to realize that by inspiring her the way I hope you will us. If she was so devoted to your tutoring once before and you were obviously quite taken with her voice then you owe it to one another. For the music if nothing more."

Erik didn't know what to say. This little girl was making much too much sense. Of course Christine's voice would make him be a better teacher and despite the risks to his poor heart, he longed for a chance to hear her sing once more.

"Music is deceiving. While it can cause joy, it can also cause tremendous pain, especially when you know it must come to an end."

"All the more reason to savor it, Professor Erik." She smiled acknowledging that she liked his name. "Maybe the music will allow her to look past your mask?"

"My what?!" He stood up at attention.

"Bets and Aaron told all of us. Professor Erik, you're a hero."

"You know nothing, child! Nothing at all about me!" _Will lies always surround me_ no matter how hard _I try to make up for my past?_

"I know you didn't have to come and teach us but you did. So in my eyes, so to speak." She laughed. "See, I use those kind of phrases all the time." She started to walk towards the door. "In my eyes, you look good to me and all of my classmates. You just need to see it." She reached the door and said goodbye before walking out of the room.

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Inside her room, a frantic Christine began packing. She had already told Bets to arrange a carriage for her as she would be heading back to Paris first thing in the morning. She could not stay there any longer. Not only did she want to spare Erik any more headache, she also couldn't allow herself to continue thinking such thoughts again. Thoughts like that caused reckless behavior and she needed to be safe and remain calm. She had to return to the Girys.

As she threw her garments into the suitcase, she paused when she saw the pressed red rose with the perfectly flat black ribbon. She reached for it and slowly brought it to her lips.

"Angel…What am I to do? I can't be around you for fear of hurting you or offending you and I can't allow myself to let such unholy thoughts rule my mind. All I wanted was to bring peace to both of us….." She did a double take of herself when she saw her image in the mirror. "How can I hope for peace, when all I do is reek havoc on those I love?" She looked at the rose. "Love?"

Meanwhile, Erik was pacing the music room. He felt once again he was being asked to make an impossible decision. He let her go last time for her sake, regardless of how much it killed him inside. Now, letting her stay would be best for her and yet it would cause him the greatest amount of pain.

"A wedding song? A song of love ringing in my head, just like that night when I heard them singing vows to one another as they rode the boat away. No! Never!" He covered his ears and closed his eyes as the song plagued him once more.

_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Say the word and will follow you._

"If only I could find a way to rid that moment from my mind. If I could hear her voice again in a song without him…. A new song that would fulfill and not haunt me."

Erik snapped himself out of the past and left the room. He was going to the kitchen to grab some water, anything to help him purge the memory from his mind when he heard sobbing coming from one of the rooms.

_Christine? Why is she crying? Is my presence here even for one night enough to scare the wits out of her?_

The cries continued and Erik felt compelled to tell her to stop. It was over, she was leaving and he would never do her any harm. _How can she think I would ever hurt her?_

"Enough is enough!" He knocked on the door only to realize it wasn't locked and the pressure of his fist actually caused the door to open slightly. He stepped back, not waiting to intrude but at the same time he had to make his intentions clear. After all, what if Aaron and Bets overheard her? How would he explain himself? He couldn't risk being thrown out.

"Child, stop that at once."

Christine's face shot up as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Erik, what are you doing in here?"

"Please, Christine just stop it."

"Stop what?"

You're crying and you have no reason to. I swear to you that I will never physically hurt you….. God knows, I've scared you in other ways but I promise I won't touch you. You have no reason to fear me."

"Fear you, angel? " She was confused. "No, I don't fear you. I…." She could feel her cheeks turn red. Was she really going to say what caused her to be afraid?

"You know I could never stand to hear you cry. It was your crying that first led me to the chapel and heard you praying to your father for an Angle of Music. So in my brainless endeavor, I succeeded in stopping you from crying but I failed to stop your pain."

"No, Erik you were everything to me back then. I never thanked you for…"

He wasn't truly listening, as his mind was burning with one question. "Christine, do I really repulse you that much that you have to run from me?"

"Angel, you don't repulse me. I was so happy to see you. I have missed you and I only want to make things right between us. I only offered up the possibility of singing lessons again to try and bridge the gap between us. I trust no one else with my voice and I stupidly thought that if we could have an opportunity to work together again and say goodbye in song that we could actually find peace and move on."

"By having me teach you one final time? Don't you see the injustice you are doing to yourself and to the music?"

"What better way than to honor its memory and you by one final tribute? I must say goodbye to my past, Erik. You and the music are interchangeable to me. Performing will not be in my future as a Vicomtesse. So if I must say goodbye, I want to do it my way."

He froze. Didn't he just wish to have a chance to have a new song with Christine? One that would block the haunting chant that never ceased to let him go? "I… I thought you were leaving in the morning?"

"I was and still can. Bets arranged for a carriage to the train station but I could stay. I could be your student once more. You once said if I didn't let pride stop me from returning to you, you would teach me again. Well, Erik I have been swallowing my pride for the past three days and I have returned, maybe not knowing it at first but I am here now."

_One final song. A chance to let her voice be one with mine again. I am too weak to resist. I need it. I need it as much as I need the air._

"One final song. Done my way. I will select it and you will obey all that I say. Do I have your word?" He came right up to her.

Her heart was pounding so loudly she was sure he could hear it. "In music, yes." She wondered if she made the clarification for his sake or for hers.

He was mere inches away from her. "So we agree, your voice is mine and I will do with it what I will? I must have your 100% obedience in this matter, otherwise you will leave and let the music remain unheard."

He stood waiting for her answer. They were almost just as close as they were before in the music room when their arms were around each other.

"My voice is yours, Erik." She was close enough to touch his mask.

"My spirit and your voice…" He couldn't breathe.

Their eyes locked once more and she breathlessly said, "In one combined. I'm yours."

_A/N: Raoul really is an arse. I did a bit of foreshadowing on his motivations throughout the story. One would think he should just let Christine go but…..He is the Fop after all. So Erik and Christine will resume their lessons but will it help or hurt them? Christine clearly needs to understand that desire is natural and normal when you love someone. Well, she was never the sharpest crayon in the box. Until next week. _


	9. Chapter 9

Meg hadn't been herself all week. She wasn't able to shake the eerie sense of hurt she felt when Darius told her that he was picking Melanie up from the train station. She knew it was utterly foolish to storm out of the café like she did but she couldn't help feel as if he had betrayed her in some way.

"There I was confiding to him about Christine and Erik, not to mention my thoughts on Raoul, while all that time he was just waiting to bring Raoul's cousin home so she could stand up to the wedding. How could he just let me go on and on like that?!" She threw a pillow at the door that barely missed her mother, when she knocked and peeked her head inside.

"What in the world?"

"Mama, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."

"Yes, I realize that." She sighed. "What is going on with you? You have either been walking around with your head in the clouds or cooped up in your room for over a week now. I know you miss Christine and Erik but this isn't healthy. You do have a life to live."

"Mama, I just…."

"No excuses. I want you to go for a walk and take in some fresh air. You have also been avoiding your practices and I won't have it. The Opera House will be opening soon and I will not have my daughter be the only dancer who is fat and lazy!"

Meg paused and looked down at her flat stomach. "You think I'm fat…."

Madame Giry rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. I expect you to be the example. Now, get!" She chased her daughter out of the house

"Okay, okay!" Meg reached for her purse and hurried out the door.

Meanwhile, Darius had felt terrible about how his last visit with Meg had ended. He wasn't hiding the fact that he was there to pick up Melanie. He didn't understand why she would have that kind of reaction.

_Maybe I was holding back but I certainly didn't do it on purpose. The truth of the matter is that I was enjoying the conversation so much, Melanie wasn't even a part of my thought process. After all, the wedding is still on and people can't halt their lives even if some of them don't know what they want. I didn't do anything wrong._

Even when he did manage to convince himself that he had done nothing wrong, it didn't help him feel better. Then suddenly he got an idea.

"I know! I'll go and see her. I'll do whatever I have to do to get her to believe that I had no hidden agenda. She has to believe that she can trust me." He wondered why he cared so much about what the young woman thought of him and immediately chalked it up to his reputation. "I'm an honest man with no hidden agenda. No woman has ever thought bad of me and I won't have one start to do so now." So with an extra spring in his step, Darius was on a mission to find Meg.

When he arrived at the address, he was a little surprised that she lived at the Opera House. He instantly felt nervous. However he ignored his fears and knocked on the door.

Madame Giry answered the door in surprise. "May I help you?"

"Good Day, Madame. I am looking for Meg Giry. Might I find her here?"

"Pardon me, Monsieur, but what would you want with my daughter?"

"Your… Daughter?" Darius cursed his stupidity. _Of course, she resides with her mother. Oh brother. "_Forgive me, Madame but I came by to apologize to your daughter. We had a disagreement the other day and I feel terrible that she may have misunderstood….."

"The other day?" Antoinette crossed her arms over her chest. "Just how do you know my daughter, Monsieur?"

Darius realized this was going from bad to worse. "I beg your pardon, Madame. I met your daughter a few nights ago at the de Chagny estate and…."

"The de Chagny…." _What the hell was Meg doing over there? _"I think you best come inside and explain to me the whole story, Monsieur."

Darius paused. "Madame, would it be possible if we could take a walk instead? I seem to feel a bit claustrophobic."

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Christine was in her room writing in her journal. She had just finished her first lesson with Erik and was overjoyed. She had missed seeing his passion for the music and the way he could easily stir that same passion in her left her in a euphoric like haze. She wanted to capture all that she was feeling so she would never forget it.

_He was strict but no stricter than he used to be. I was so out of practice. I can't believe how much my voice suffered from going without practice for three weeks. I don't know what I would have done without Erik here to help me. There were times I could tell he was holding back, almost afraid to be so stern but he was absolutely right._

She wrote down their exchange.

"Angel, you agreed to tutor me again. I know what pleases you and what doesn't. You said that I had to follow your every word. How can I do that if you aren't honest with me?"

"Fine!" Christine noticed his voice was bold and with a deep rich texture to it. "You have gotten much too lazy with your upper register. There was a time when you could sing these scales in your sleep. Your posture is not at all where it needs to be either. Fix your posture and it will automatically help you breathe. That will be a start in correcting your range. This is amateur behavior and I am appalled that you would behave as such."

"Yes, Maestro. I will do better."

He came towards her and was about to placed his hands on her rib cage but stopped himself. "Stand up straight and use your diaphragm. I won't start you out on a song until the notes flow out of you as easily as my piano, understood? I also ask that you do not talk for long periods of time, until your voice has rested and has gotten used to the vocal exercises again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, angel"

"What did you call me?"

"I…. I'm sorry, Erik. It's a habit."

Erik turned his back to her. "Break it, as I command you to break your other bad habits. I'm not an angel, remember that." He then turned back to look at her. _Can you remember that I am a man too?_

Christine wrote her recollections down and smiled, despite their rocky start. "I'll work hard. I'll make him see that these lessons are not in vain and maybe….. Just maybe we can have peace between us again. This song may be for Raoul but it's Erik I wish to please. If he can nurture my voice with his passion again, then I'll know I am worthy to sing for him."

As she wrote her final line she realized she was still smiling. _Knowing I can please him again makes me happy. I wish to have our lessons bring him joy and not pain. Maybe our friendship will soar once more?_

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Christine wasn't the only one reflecting on their lesson. Erik was at the piano, was mentally beating himself up for how he was acting around her.

_Yes, I wish to have my guard up but there is no reason for me to be a controlling beast. That is precisely one of the reasons why she ran away from me in the first place. Well, that and my hideous face. I may not be able to change what I am but I don't need to act as if I am a brute. She seems to want to have my favor again that it isn't even phasing her that I am being so heartless. Being strict, is one thing but I told her she had to obey me. I sound like a dictator or worse…. A truly mutual learning experience is a student who wishes to learn from the teacher. Not one who is forced to learn._

He closed his eyes and remembered her stance and how he should have physically corrected her. "If I shy away from her flaws and not address them swiftly, I will be doing a disservice to her. She wants me to hold her accountable, she said so herself. I must not let my evil, wicked desires hurt the music. I promised her I would teach her and I want our lessons to bring her joy and not pain.

He forced himself to smile. "Even if it is for him…..At least she will be happy and she will know I helped her to be happy. Maybe then, she won't only think of the pain I caused. Maybe through all the darkness, I can create some light?"

He thought about how her desire for him to be strict may change once their lessons become more difficult. He needed to accommodate all her needs in order to truly get the results they both desired.

_When we start to practice with songs I fear she will need me to be compassionate and nurturing in order for her to gain her confidence back. While her voice has suffered, it is her spirit that is broken and without it, the music will be nothing but notes on a page. She must not be afraid to sing with her heart. I'd rather have her sing beautifully for him, than lose the very quality that I fell in love with._

"Professor Erik?"

Erik stood and looked over at Tobias. "Yes?"

"Am I too early?"

Erik looked at his pocket watch. "No, you are right on time. I value punctuality. It is a most noble quality." He was also grateful for the distraction.

"I'm eager to get started, Professor."

"As you should be. Let's not waste time. I have the piano all tuned for you."

"Professor?"

"For our lesson. You told me that you had more of a desire to play than sing. Come now, we all can't be leads. Besides, where would our leads be without the men who direct the music? Sit and we shall begin."

"But Professor, I really don't know any songs. A few notes but….."

"Never mind that. You play what is in your heart. Now then, do you know your cords?"

He nodded.

"If I did that, you would not know what I was doing. I expect you to extend to me the same courtesy. Speak up."

"I know the cords, Professor Erik."

He grinned. "Words prove nothing. Sit down and show me."

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Meg was walking down the street when she saw Nadir about to pass her by.

"Nadir?"

"Meg, what are you doing out this way by yourself?"

She laughed. "Nadir, I'm not a little girl any more. Mama sent me out of the house for a while. She said I have not been myself lately."

Nadir nodded. "I can relate."

She arched her eye brow up. "Does this have to do with Uncle Erik? Do you miss him too?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. I mean of course I miss him but I confess my present state has more to do with your mother than Erik."

"Mama?" Meg thought for a moment. "Is she alright?"

"She's fine, Meg." He placed his hand on her shoulder for assurance. "She's just too stubborn for her own good."

Meg laughed. "Tell me something I don't know." She placed her hand on top of his. "Don't give up on Mama, Nadir. She just needs a little more nudging. Surely, you can't be afraid of a little hard work?"

Nadir scratched the back of his neck. "Hard work for a noble cause is worth it but I'm afraid I am fighting a losing battle."

Meg was about to offer up more words of encouragement when she thought of a better idea. "Are you busy right now?"

"Why, do you need something?"

"Come back to the house with me. I'll tell Mama I invited you over for supper."

"Meg…."

"She'll have to agree. She wanted me to go out so really she has no one to blame but herself."

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea. What if she…."

"What if she doesn't?" Meg always loved to turn that phrase around on people. She did it to Christine, so why not Nadir? "Quit arguing. Let's go." She took his hand and brought him back towards the Opera House.

Meanwhile, Antoinette was losing her patience. "Are you telling me that Meg is responsible for Christine leaving town? When I see her, I am going to ring her neck!"

"No, wait!" Darius stood up from the park bench to try and get Antoinette to sit back down. "Your daughter is driven by her convictions and she is very brave. I sincerely believe that she wants only the best for her friend. Now, I know I have a long standing friendship with the Comte but that doesn't mean that I agree with what his two sons do. You really should be proud of Meg for caring enough about her friend to take such a chance at expressing her feelings. Besides, no one forced the lady. I was there. Perhaps, Meg was right about having her separate from the de Chagny family for a while. We should all have a friend like your daughter, Madame."

Antoinette was torn. She knew it was best for Meg to stay out of these affairs but the way the gentleman was speaking so highly of her daughter made her swell with pride. _Meg does speak her mind and I am proud of her courage and heart._

"Tell me Monsieur, how did you get to know my daughter so well?"

Darius looked a little bashful. "Perhaps not that well or I wouldn't have offended her the other day. Please believe me when I tell you that I didn't have any ulterior motive in not disclosing why I was at the station. I don't interfere with the lives of the Comte's children."

Antoinette laughed. "There is no need with Meg around. She can handle that for all of us."

As they laughed and he offered her arm to escort her home, Nadir and Meg passed the park. She saw Darius, while he focused on Antoinette. They each turned to face the other, saying…..

"What is she doing?"

"What is he doing?"

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"I'm telling you Aaron, there is more than meets the eye between them."

"Bets, just leave it alone. You are blowing things out of proportion again."

"Am I?" She handed him a plate so he could dry it, while she began washing another.

"I think you are trying to see something because you want to believe it."

"Aaron, how else do you explain it? First, she comes to me and wants to leave us. She ask me to arrange for a carriage to take her to the station but then she not only changes her mind, she is now taking lessons from the very man she swore she wouldn't study with."

"Maybe she saw how good of a tutor he was?" He looked at the next plate she was giving him and frowned. "Am I supposed to wipe off what you don't wash off?"

"Give me that!" She took back the plate and continued the discussion. "You weren't there when she practically pledged her allegiance to her former teacher. I am convinced that not only is Erik her former music tutor but she also is in love with him!"

"In love?!" Aaron lowered his voice for fear someone would hear him. "Bets, she is marrying the Vicomte."

"And that automatically means it's love? We both know those nobles marry for a lot of reasons and love is never one of them."

"But she isn't a noble. What would make her do it or him for that matter?"

She thought for a moment as she washed another plate. "I haven't figured that part out yet. But mark my words, I am right."

He nodded. "Of course, dear."

Bets took a towel and playfully smacked him with it. "Aaron, one minute you want nothing to do with someone, the next you can't wait to be around them? If that isn't love, I don't know what is."

"How would I know? All I have ever wanted to do is be around you. Are you saying it wasn't love for us?" He looked at her with an innocent grin.

"There are exceptions." She dropped the towel and despite her wet hands, she reached for him and planted a large kiss over his full lips.

"You know, I may need your help in showing me all these so called exceptions. You are the smart one in this relationship, remember?"

"I remember, I remember." She placed her hands over his neck and began to possessively claim his lips once more.

As they were in their playful lip lock, Christine walked in on them in the kitchen. "Oh!"

Bets moved apart from Aaron slowly and smiled. "Yes, Christine? Can we help you, dear?"

"I…. I'm sorry. I didn't know. I….. Will come back." She turned a deep shade of red and began walking away, when Bets called for her to return.

"Christine, it's fine. Please come back!" She looked at Aaron. "All we were doing was kissing. Why would she behave like that?"

Aaron shrugged his shoulders. "We usually kiss in front of blind children. Maybe we are too expressive with one another for public eyes and were never told before?"

"Too expressive? Are you saying that for all these years, you've merely put up with my advances?"

He grinned. "The things a husband must do." He pulled her towards him.

"Uh, excuse me? We best refrain from such displays, husband. Wouldn't want to offend…."

He kissed her quickly. "Folks behave much differently outside of Paris. Let's show her how the other half lives."

They soon forgot all about Christine's interruption.

Christine however, did not. She went straight to her room and began to pace. "They were out in the open for anyone to see. Surely, they can't really believe that because they only have had blind children reside with them over the years, it makes such behavior acceptable? I realize they are married but she was all over him. What would possess her to act like that?"

She sat down on the bed and touched her head as if a headache was coming on. She knew that once she was married certain affections would be normal and of course she had kissed Raoul but he was always the one who initiated such contact. Christine never once even thought about it. Even when they were up on the rooftop and she accepted his proposal, he kissed her. That was how it was done, wasn't it?

She then remembered how she felt after she had kissed Erik. She had taken the lead and despite how inappropriate, she rather liked how her boldness made her feel. Then of course there were the kisses themselves. She couldn't deny how they made her feel either.

"Why have I never thought of kissing Raoul first? Why have his kisses seemed dull ever since Erik's?" She stood up and walked to the desk and pulled out her journal. "Erik hasn't even truly kissed me and I keep having to purge all thoughts of how the touch of his lips made me feel." She had to catch her breathe. "Even now, I'm feverish."

She tried to make sense of it all. "Bets is married but why would she be so brazen like that? Marital affections should be private and even then it shouldn't be so…." She remembered the night Meg came to see her at the de Chagny's estate, where she rationalized that Erik's unbridle passions and led to his downfall. She needed to abort such thoughts and stop them from controlling her.

_Wild and reckless. My angel let those feelings rule him and look what happened? His actions were out of control….._

She needed to calm herself. She decided it was time to write Raoul a letter. _Yes, I will write to him and perhaps that will clear my mind of such irrational behavior. _ She began rummaging for paper when she heard a knock at her door.

"Yes?"

The door opened and Christine was surprised to see Viviane. "Sweetheart, was is it?"

"Christine, I'm sorry for disturbing you but…."

"No, you're fine. What is it?"

"You must come to the music room and see this!" She reached for her hand and giggled. "I use that phrase all the time." She then turned serious. "Come with me, please?"

Christine took the child's hand and all thoughts of writing to Raoul were forgotten. Instead she stopped in her tracks when she entered the room and saw Tobias playing the piano with Erik guiding him.

"It's Tobias, Christine." Viviane whispered. "I asked to listen to his voice lesson and here he is, playing the piano. Professor Erik is different. He believes in us. You were right to only work with him."

Christine's eyes searched for Erik's until he suddenly felt her presence in the room. He allowed himself to look away from Tobias for a moment and when his eyes met hers, they both smiled instantly.

_A/N: Raoul who? Seems as if Erik might be a little less cold and perhaps be willing to talk about other various topics other than music….And I think Bets will try and seek Christine out and find out why she was so freaked out by seeing her kiss Aaron. Then there's Meg/Darius/Nadir/ Annie…. Until next week._


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you once again for your wonderful reviews. Your support means a great deal to me. **

**Please be aware that there will not be an update on 5/24. It is Memorial Weekend in the States and I venture off to the Big Apple for my annual theatre pilgrimage. The next update will be on 5/31.**

**Until then, here's Chapter 10.**

Nadir charged up to Darius and yanked his hand away from Annie's arm.

"You get your hands off her!"

Darius didn't know what to make of the crazed Persian before him. "Just who do you think you are, telling me what to do? Furthermore, I would advise that you keep your hands to yourself, Monsieur."

Annie saw red. "Nadir, just what do you think you're doing?"

"Me? I could say the same for you."

"Really, Nadir you are behaving like a child. Monsieur Reimes and I were talking."

Meg just watched the three of them in the distance and realized that no one had even noticed her yet. She thought about just walking home but something in her stirred and decided if she wasn't being heard, it was up to her to change that.

"Stop it right now, all of you! You are all behaving like children."

Darius did a double take. "Surely not all of us. I wasn't the one behaving like some sort of brute on the playground."

Nadir moved towards him again. "Funny how you seem to get your courage when women act as your shield."

Annie had just about enough. "That's it. This ends right now. Nadir for the last time, Monsieur Reimes and I were talking. He stopped by to see Meg and suggested a walk. When I learned about…"

Meg interrupted and turn to Darius. "You came to see me?"

Darius smiled, despite the tension in the air. "I felt terrible how things ended at the café. I really never meant for you to think badly of me."

Nadir scoffed. "Yes, I'm sure you manhandling her mother gave her a strong sense of comfort about you."

Darius spun around. "I have had enough of you. I haven't lowered myself to have a physical altercation with another human being since I was a boy but if you insist on behaving as such, I will comply."

"Mama!" Meg implored her for some help.

"This is outrageous. Meg and I are going home. If and only if you two can conduct yourselves as gentlemen, you may walk with us. Otherwise, kill yourselves after we have gone."

Meg's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Come, child." Annie took her daughter by the arm and they began walking away.

Nadir kicked his foot into the ground and then looked at Darius. "I didn't come here to fight you. I came to see her."

"So did I… Meg, that is."

Nadir stared at him for a long time, almost as if he was trying to decipher if he was lying or not. Finally, he shrugged. "I think we best leave our egos in the park and see that the ladies get home safely. Don't you agree?"

"I believe now you are speaking with reason, Monsieur."

All the while Annie kept walking with Meg, nudging her to not glance behind. "Let them be, Meg. They will follow soon enough. Besides, I want to know more about why Christine left town and what exactly your role in that was."

"Uh….."

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Time seemed to be standing still between Erik and Christine, for neither knew how long they had been smiling at one another until Viviane's thunderous applause snapped Erik out of his trance.

Feeling embarrassed, Tobias softly spoke. "Viviane, I told you that my lesson was private!" Tobias made a face and placed his hands on his legs.

"How did you know it was me?"

This caused Tobias to smile. "I know the sound of those hands anywhere."

Viviane ignored his comment. "You were incredible." She then paused. "Professor, you could do all that in one lesson?"

Erik was touched by the young girl's amazement. "We really didn't do much but work on a few technical requirements. Young Tobias just needed to get some of the basics down before we truly begin his studies. Hold off on your praise until we have done something to earn it."

"But you have. The others didn't even give him a chance. They….."

Tobias stood up. "Viviane, stop! We're real students now, like anyone else. Professor Erik is right. I need more to be measured on than just one lesson."

Christine could see the urge in Viviane to want to protest, so she touched the child's shoulder. "Tobias, I am very well aware of Professor Erik's teachings and while I realize you both see all the work ahead of you, remember to be proud of what you have already accomplished. You did sound wonderful."

"Mademoiselle Daae?" Tobias face turned red. "Viviane, why did you bring her? I'm just starting out and …."

Erik interjected. "The ladies are right, Tobias. It was very good for a first day. Celebrate your success. It is the exact feeling you will want to replicate as you continue to get better and better."

Tobias turned into the direction of Erik's voice and his face beamed with pride. "Really, Professor? You think I could go far?"

"I think there is a lot of work we must do and you must want this badly enough but there is no denying you have raw talent, Tobias. With care, hard work and continuous practice, who knows where we may end up hearing you play? I just hope you would give your former tutor a free ticket." He teased.

"I…."

"Professor, do we have time for a break before your next lesson?"

Erik looked at his pocket watch. "You and I aren't meeting until tomorrow, Viviane. You and Tobias are free to….."

"Oh, please come with us." Viviane asked.

"Yes, please." Tobias echoed.

This time it was Erik who looked a little embarrassed. "Children, really. You two go on and….."

Christine didn't hesitate to voice her opinion. "Angel, they want you to come."

Viviane wondered to herself. _She called him angel again….._

Erik began playing with the sheet music. "You all go along and enjoy yourselves. I need to plan for tomorrow."

"But my lessons can't be that complex. One break, Professor Erik?"

Erik sighed. "Viviane, I do have other responsibilities around here. Aaron is expecting me to start making some enhancement recommendations and I haven't even properly looked around the property yet."

"Christine, please join us and convince the Professor to come too?"

Christine smiled at the young girl. Her persistence was not in vain. "What did you have in mind, dear?"

"Just a trip into the kitchen. Tobias and I sneak away every afternoon. Please?"

Erik rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for food. You three just go on and…." He felt Tobias take his arm.

"Please, Professor?"

He was about to stand firm when he saw the look on the boy's face. _Can this be so, does he want me to come? _He then caught a glimpse of Christine looking his way out of the corner of his eye. _Does she?_

"Alright, I'll accompany you three but that's all."

As they all began walking towards the kitchen, Christine smiled to herself. Seeing him interact with the children reminded her of how he used to be with her growing up. She missed that side of him. Then again, she hadn't really given him a reason to behave in such a way in a very long time. Gone was her innocent and carefree obedience but she had to remind herself that Erik always challenged her and encouraged debate between them. He never taught her to be submissive.

_Challenging what one reads or learns is a nature thing. It stimulates the mind and your mind is excellent. Never stand behind anyone, Christine. Make your opinion matter. Except when they differ from your teacher's. She heard him laugh as he spoke._

She remembered finding his laughter infectious and commented how he should laugh more. That was when all that ever existed between them was a deserted music room.

"Uh….Professor? Tobias asked.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind going in and making sure that Bets and Aaron aren't in there?"

"But why?"

Viviane stopped Tobias from responding. "They try to limit our snacks in between meals and we do obey them but this is a special occasion and sometimes for us, half the fun is getting away with it." She grinned.

Erik couldn't help but smile. "I see you are someone who enjoys mischief and perhaps playing a prank or two, eh?"

"Or three." Tobias added as he laughed.

"Hey!" Viviane hit his side.

Erik raised his hand. "Very well. No need to squabble or waste your energies just yet." He opened the door and looked around. He then turned back to the group. "All clear. Now what?"

Viviane took the lead. "Now we make our way into the panty and enjoy the tastiest treat you will ever hope to have."

If one did not know any better, you wouldn't be able to tell that the children were without sight. They seemed to know the room with complete ease. They went into the pantry and came out with a large jar and placed it on the counter.

"Professor? Christine? Do either one of you want to have the first one?"

Erik leaned in to look inside. "What is it?"

Christine couldn't help but laugh at the way the unmasked side of his face revealed his adorable expression. "They are biscotti, Erik."

"A cookie?"

Tobias protested. "Not just any cookie, Professor. Try it."

Erik saw the large morsel and didn't think it would be possible to do so with his mask on. "No, really. You three enjoy. I am not one for sweets."

"But Professor, this is different." Viviane took one and lifted it in the air for Erik to grab from her hand.

Christine realized why he was hesitating. _The mask prohibits him from eating with it on. Oh angel….._"Perhaps Erik and I could share one? I could break it in half or maybe even smaller pieces, as I too do not want to spoil my appetite for later. Would that be alright, Erik?"

Erik didn't know if he wanted to slap or kiss Christine. _ Was this for her benefit or for mine? Perhaps she thought I would subject her to my face again and decided to spare herself the ordeal?_

He replied indifferently. "It is all the same to me, Christine."

Christine took the biscotti out of Viviane's hand and broke it up into smaller pieces. "I have had this before. Would you like to be the first?" She took a few pieces and placed them in her hand as she offered it to Erik.

He eyed the contents and her very cautiously. He slowly took a piece from her hand and inserted it into his mouth. After a moment, he took another piece and soon another.

The silence was killing the children. "Well? What do you think?"

"Mmm…. I think you three will spoil your supper if you indulge in this sugary morsel. I feel it is my duty, as you professor and therefore guide and guardian…." He looked at Christine for a moment and then continued. "To take these away from your presence as they are much too tempting."

"What?" Viviane heard the jar move away from her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Erik did answer her but his mouth was too full for her to comprehend.

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Meg was doing all she could to keep herself pre-occupied in the kitchen to avoid her mother's glare and questions. However, Annie was not going to give up so easily.

"I still do not understand how you thought sending Christine to Erik would help the situation. She is engaged. For all intents and purposes she is already the Vicomte's wife."

"Mama, that is not true and Uncle Erik won't hurt her. Christine needs to start thinking for herself and see Erik for the man he really is. If Uncle Erik sees that Christine will give him a real chance to court and love her, I know he would go about it differently."

And the Vicomte? The law? The fact that Erik is a wanted man? Any thoughts on those fascinating topics, Mlle Giry?"

Meg stood still with her head down. "Not yet. But…."

"There will be no buts! You've done quite enough I'm afraid. I suggest you now go and keep company with our guest, before Nadir throws him into a headlock or something."

Meg laughed. "It is a little absurd though isn't it? I mean Nadir thinking that Darius was…" She saw her mother's face and instantly wanted to cram the words right back into her mouth. "What I meant was…."

"Go, now." Her voice was calm but her meaning was very clear.

Meg hadn't mean to hurt her mother. She was only trying to get her to focus her attention on Nadir. _Mama, couldn't be interested in Darius? He's completely wrong for her. Besides he didn't come to see her. He came to see me. _Her heart started to flip flop as she entered the parlor.

"Hello."

The sight before her showed Nadir and Darius sitting across from one another. The scene was not as exciting as it had been in the park and she was grateful for it.

Both gentlemen stood up upon her arrival. "Hello, Meg." Darius smiled. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Actually, Mama has requested….."

"Yes?" Darius spoke rather quickly and it threw Meg off a bit.

"Mama has requested that Nadir see her in the kitchen."

Nadir was surprised but equally pleased. "She did?" He didn't hesitate for fear she would change her mind. "I must not keep her waiting."

Darius nodded. He was grateful to have some time alone with Meg but he had hoped to talk to her mother one more time in private to assure her that Meg had done nothing wrong and he could be trusted with her daughter's well-being. He had also wanted to ask if he could start to come around more often and continue his friendship with Meg.

Once Nadir was gone, Meg sat down and tried to smile but it didn't work. Darius noticed her discomfort.

"Are you still angry with me about the outburst in the park?"

"No." She shook her head. "That was all Nadir. I do seem to think that you were disappointed just know that Mama had asked for Nadirs' company and not yours."

"I had only hoped to ensure she wouldn't disapprove of our knowing one another. I missed seeing you this past week and now that your mother knows of our friendship, I wouldn't want to hide it from her."

"Yes, Mama hates surprises." _So he does wish to see me._

"The question I should have asked first though is, do you wish to see me?"

There was a lump in Meg's throat that prevented her from speaking. Darius didn't like the silence but continued anyway.

"I know I should have told you about Melanie but I completely forgot she was coming and why I was even at the station to begin with. We were so caught up with that little charade to get Christine on the train and then the delightful conversation we were having that nothing else mattered."

Meg looked at him in disbelief. "You mean you were so caught up in our discussion that you forgot about everything else?"

Darius smiled. "Simply put but very true, Meg."

Meg couldn't hide the blush that came to her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Nadir was trying to test the waters with Annie. "Thank you for calling me in here. I agree we needed some time to talk privately."

Annie shook her head. "I didn't. Thank Meg. She probably wanted some alone time with Monsieur Reimes."

Nadir made a face. "What's so special about him?"

"Let me think about that for a moment. He is charming, handsome, well mannered, cultured….."

"Forget I asked. Honestly, you can't see that going anywhere."

"Why not? Are you saying Meg couldn't rise above her class? Christine did."

"And look how well that is turning out." Nadir stopped himself. "Annie, I adore Meg and she should be happy and marry whomever she wishes but don't you think she could marry someone a bit closer to her own age?"

"Nadir they only met a week ago. I hardly think anyone is thinking of marriage."

"In all seriousness though. The gap is….."

"What gap? A man should be older than his spouse and if things were to change between Christine and Erik, their age gap is quite large as well."

Nadir was stumped for a moment. "Yes, a man should be older but they should also have common interests. I am not saying anything is going to change between Erik and Christine but they do have a lot in common. What do this Reimes and Meg have to talk bout?"

"You just don't like him."

"Alright, I don't like that you and Meg are keeping company with a friend of the de Chagnys. This could be dangerous for all of us and I only hope Meg hasn't shared everything with him."

This made Annie stop and think for a moment. "Oh dear, I had been so pre-occupied with Meg getting Christine to leave and follow Erik…."

"Wait, what?"

"You didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"Meg convinced Christine to go to a music conservatory that Raoul had suggested so she could learn a song for her to sing at their wedding. Apparently this conservatory is the exact same school where Erik went to teach."

"Dear Allah!"

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Meg and Darius were getting along splendidly when she realized that she hadn't offered him any tea.

"Goodness, where are my manners? Would you like some tea?"

"Yes but I'll get it."

"No, you're a guest."

"A friend, remember? Sit, I will simply ask Nadir to bring some." He grinned and it caused Meg to laugh.

"Okay. Hurry back."

He nodded happily. He walked over to the kitchen door and was about to knock when he heard Nadir's voice.

"Annie, this whole arrangement is not right. He is not ready and she will only confuse him. As if angels were there only problem."

Annie hated to admit it but she was worried for her surrogate brother and daughter. "I only hope Meg knows what she is doing."

"If you ask me her judgment is being clouded by outside influences that may only be here to hurt her and those she loves."

"You mean Monsieur Reimes?"

"Despite my unfounded accusations earlier, his association with the de Chagnys may be reason enough to discredit him. You throw that in along with his age. I'm sorry, Annie but it is far too dangerous to let it go any further."

Darius wished he hadn't overheard them, that way he could have keep on pretending. What was he thinking? That they would accept him as a potential friend and possible suitor for Meg's affections? As if she needed another beau. Certainly not one with his baggage. He decided it would be best to spare everyone from to having to go through the formality of dinner with his presence. Instead, he took his leave.

Meg heard the front door open and close and when she went to see what was going on, she called after him but Darius did not look back.

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Erik sat outside looking up at the stars. They seemed to be all out tonight, tempting him to just reach out and touch one of them. He had a very pleasant day today. One he didn't think he would ever experience again when he left the Opera House. He closed his eyes and remembered the look of happiness on Tobias' face, the smile he exchanged with Christine, the….

_She smiled at me. She actually smiled at me the man, not celestial being. Then when she offered to share the biscotti with me….. She willingly shared something with the monster._

Erik looked down grabbed a biscotto from the jar, broke it down and took a few bites. "These are going to present a problem."

"Surely not with your waist line." Christine giggled. "Viviane sent me out here to check on the status of the jar."

Erik faked being offended. "I see how much the teacher is truly valued. I can look but I cannot touch or in this case, eat." The jar is right here….. Almost filled."

She giggled again. "Erik, you really were wonderful today with Tobias."

He turned to face her. "You look so surprised. I thought you always considered me a good teacher?"

"A magnificent teacher but even I was amazed."

He looked up at the stars again and Christine wondered if she had said something wrong. "I'll leave you then. Goodnight."

"Angel?"

"Yes?!" She responded quickly and her heart almost stopped when she heard him call her angel.

"I don't think I have been that magnificent of a teacher for you lately. I want to apologize for our previous lesson. You deserve the teacher I once was and for a long time I didn't think I could be him again but when I hear you sing I know I have to try. You deserve better."

"I have found no fault with our lesson, angel except sometimes I think you are holding back on me."

"No more." He stood up and walked towards her. "I should like to resume our lessons as they once were, hard work but immensely rewarding. I also will give you the praise and encouragement you will need in order to move forward. The music deserves that." He then whispered, "Your voice deserves that."

"Thank you, Erik. I won't let you down again, you'll see."

"It's for your boy, now Christine. Think of him and I am sure you will want to do well." It nearly killed him to utter those words. "Christine, what I said before about obeying me… I'm sorry. I was out of line."

"You have always been strict. I didn't take offence."

"You should have. I will not use some power I once I had over you to get you to do what I want. I want you to do things because you want to. No more forcing." He made a weak smile.

"Erik…"

"There is one thing I have to ask you." He didn't wait for her to answer. "Did you unmask me on the night of Don Juan out of fear or were you so disgusted by my proposal, you needed to bring me back into reality?"

"Unmasked you… Erik, I didn't unmask you to embarrassed you or hurt you. I wasn't afraid of you. I was afraid for you."

Erik looked up in confusion. "Afraid for me? Why?"

"I knew Raoul had his men guarding the stage. I didn't know what he would try. I thought if I distracted them, then you could run and…."

"By distracting, you meant having them see my deplorable face?"

"Erik, I didn't stop to think of all the consequences, I just acted. Haven't you ever acted on impulse?"

_All too well…._ "So the same was true when you kissed me?" Erik cursed himself. He hadn't wanted to go there but it just came out. _No matter. I know the answer anyway. I just want to hear it from her lips._

Her eyes filled with tears. "Erik, I don't remember a lot of that night. I certainly can't recall all the things I said but….."

"How convenient for you. Unfortunately, I can. You said my soul was distorted. You actually accused me of wanting to rape you."

She shook her head. "No! Erik, I was not myself. We were both pushed to our limits. I did not mean any of it. I know you would never hurt me."

"Can I say the same about you?" His voice wasn't accusing or angry. It was more or less asking the question at face value.

"Erik, I know I have my own sins to pay for that night."

"By sins…. Do you mean kissing me?"

"No. I did that out of my own free will."

"You played a hunch and it worked. I never expected such intimacy and it was just what I needed to bring me back to reality and realize that if I couldn't have you willingly, it would never be right. Nor would it ever make me happy. Who wants someone with them because there is no other choice?"

"Erik, I can't tell you whether or not I had a plan with our first kiss but I can tell you all plans were changed the moment we connected. Our second kiss was….."

"There you two are! Tobias told me he heard you two talking so I said I would just stumble outside and see." She laughed. "Get it? I'm blind so I would stumble outside and using the word seeing is actually a common…."

Erik was annoyed that his conversation with Christine has been interrupted but he was also grateful for the distraction. His head was throbbing. He walked over to the jar and placed it into the child's hands.

"Don't spoil your supper and leave some for me. Otherwise, your lesson tomorrow will consist of the alphabet."

She laughed. "Yes, Professor. Are you two coming inside?"

Erik waited for Christine to reply.

"In a few minutes, dear. Professor Erik and I were discussing something."

"Ok." _Sure you were._

When Viviane left, Erik swallowed hard. "Our second kiss was what?"

"Oh Erik, I'm so ashamed!" She turned and started to cry.

Erik's heart fell. _Of course. She is ashamed she had to admit she kissed someone like him. Erik, when will you stop being her puppet?_

Christine was about to tell him why she felt ashamed. _That's it. Admit these feeling out loud first. Tell him what you felt and how you never knew it existed and let them run wild._ Yet she know that wasn't what a proper woman should be feeling. She knew it was wrong to have these thoughts and even worse to admit them but Erik was her family. She used to tell him everything, even things she wouldn't tell Meg. If she couldn't tell him, than who? But would Erik say? What would he think of her? As if the whole situation wasn't bad enough, what about Raoul? If she were going to feel such emotions for someone, shouldn't it be for him?

"Erik, I don't know where to begin." She then turned to face him and saw he was looking away from her. "Please, don't discredit me before you hear me explain. I don't know how to make rhyme or reason with my feelings, so bear with me."

"Christine, you did what you had to do to survive. You played your hand beautifully and it worked. You saved yourself and the Vicomte. You were a hero for him and a savior for me. Don't be ashamed. Anyone who loves you, will not hold your past against you."

"But you sent me away." She tried to control the trembling in voice but it was useless.

"Sent you away? I let you go free to a life that you wanted. You remember that life, don't you? Freedom, a world with no more night?"

Her face turned white. "You were there? You heard?"

"Every word." Erik wondered why they were going down this path. It was proving to be taxing on both of them. All he knew was he needed to save as much face as possible and get away quickly. "Christine, you did nothing wrong. Raoul loves you and you love him. I will not stand in your way. I agreed to teach you a song for him as proof. Consider it my wedding present to you both."

"But…."

Rage began to take control over Erik's body. "Good God, Christine! What do you want from me? I have had to endure you telling that Fop that I am a horror. I have had to hear your sweet words of love to him. I have had listen to you admit that you are ashamed for having kissed me and now I agreed to let you go by teaching you one final song to sing for him. I am not a threat to your happiness. I left so you could have your peace and I could find mine. Will you not be satisfied until you reduce me to nothing? How long must I pay for the sin for falling in love with someone who I shouldn't have?"

"Haven't you been listen to me? Hearing me is one thing, but do you ever listen?" Her voice was just as loud to match his. Emotions were escalating out of control.

"I unmasked you to save your life. I did say those things to Raoul on the roof but I was afraid and looking for a lifeline. I was confused. You hadn't been back to see me since the night you took me to you lair and all I knew from that point on were phantoms and murderers. Yes, I should have sought you out but… Damn it, Erik! I needed you to come to me.

"You needed me? But you had your handsome Vicomte?" Erik had to sit down.

"I refused to see anyone for days afterwards. You who see all, didn't you see that? Where were you? Gone was my friend and guardian. All that I saw coming from you were frightening notes, threats and demands….."

"You recoiled against me. I thought you would be different. Yet you were like everyone else, once you saw my face. I didn't think you wanted me to see you. I thought if I had a purpose, such as making you the star of my opera, you would come to me again. So I used the six months to finish my life's work."

"Forcing me to sing is not what I had in mind and I didn't recoil against your face! I recoiled against your temper and your curt words. You insulted me and destroyed all the sweet and wonderful dreams I had of us."

"Dreams of us? You dreamt of …."

"And lastly, I wasn't ashamed of kissing you. I was ashamed because I liked it and I wanted much more of it!"


End file.
